Generalization of integrated terrain elevation and 2D object models

Abstract

A lot of attention has been paid to generalization (filtering) of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and the same is true for generalization of 2D object models (e.g. topographic or land use data). In addition there is a tendency to integrate DEMs with classified real-world objects or features, the result is sometimes called a Digital Terrain Model (DTM). However, there has not been much research on the generalization of these integrated elevation and object models. This paper describes a four step procedure. The first two steps have been implemented and tested with real world data (laser elevation point clouds and cadastral parcels). These tests have yielded promising results as will be shown in this paper.