Automatic identification of bomb craters and their potential location

Abstract

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data are generally used for archaeological, geographical, and geological purposes. In modern age archaeology, military object identification and mapping are used to reconstruct World War II defense lines. This article argues that this reconstruction process can be supported by detecting and identifying the location of bomb craters using LiDAR data. Because of the large amount of such relevant data and the issues associated with their management, there is a need to automate the entire process of detection and identification. This article presents and discusses the methods that have been developed for this automation. These methods could also be applied for different research objectives using LiDAR data, such as to detect the location of burial mounds and to carry out mapping of doline formations.