Integration of photogrammetric and LIDAR data in a multi-primitive triangulation environment

Abstract

Photogrammetric mapping procedures have gone through major developments as a result of the significant improvements in its underlying technologies. For example, the continuous development of digital imaging systems has lead to the steady adoption of digital frame and line cameras in mapping activities. Moreover, the availability of GPS/INS systems facilitated the direct geo-referencing of the acquired imagery. Still, photogrammetric datasets taken without the aid of positioning and navigation systems need control information for the purpose of surface reconstruction. So far, distinct point features have been the primary source of control for photogrammetric triangulation although other higher-order features are available and can be used. In addition to photogrammetric data, LIDAR systems supply dense geometric surface information in the form of three dimensional coordinates of laser footprints with respect to a global reference system. Considering the accuracy improvement of LIDAR systems in the recent years, which is propelled by the continuous advancement in GPS/INS technology, LIDAR data is considered a viable supply of control for photogrammetric geo-referencing. In this paper, alternative methodologies will be devised for the purpose of integrating LIDAR data into the photogrammetric triangulation. Such methodologies will deal with two main issues: utilized primitives and the respective mathematical models. More specifically, two methodologies will be introduced that utilize straight-line and areal features derived from both datasets as the primitives. The first methodology directly incorporates LIDAR lines as control information in the photogrammetric triangulation, while in the second methodology, LIDAR patches are used to geo-reference the photogrammetric model. The feasibility of the devised methods will be investigated through experimental results with real data.