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Assessing the Accuracy of Georeferenced Point Clouds Produced via Multi-View Stereopsis from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Imagery
Citation
Harwin, S and Lucieer, A, Assessing the Accuracy of Georeferenced Point Clouds Produced via Multi-View Stereopsis from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Imagery, Remote Sensing, 4, (6) pp. 1573-1599. ISSN 2072-4292 (2012) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Abstract
Sensor miniaturisation, improved battery technology and the availability of
low-cost yet advanced Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have provided new opportunities for environmental remote sensing. The UAV provides a platform for close-range aerial photography. Detailed imagery captured from micro-UAV can produce dense point clouds using multi-view stereopsis (MVS) techniques combining photogrammetry and computer vision. This study applies MVS techniques to imagery acquired from a multi-rotor micro-UAV of a natural coastal site in southeastern Tasmania, Australia. A very dense point cloud (<1-3 cm point spacing) is produced in an arbitrary coordinate system using full resolution imagery, whereas other studies usually downsample the original imagery.
The point cloud is sparse in areas of complex vegetation and where surfaces have a homogeneous texture. Ground control points collected with Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) are identified and used for georeferencing via a Helmert transformation. This study compared georeferenced point clouds to a Total Station survey in order to assess and quantify their geometric accuracy. The results indicate that a georeferenced point cloud accurate to 25-40 mm can be obtained from imagery acquired from ~50 m. UAV-based image capture provides the spatial and temporal resolution required to map and monitor natural landscapes. This paper assesses the accuracy of the generated point clouds based on field survey points. Based on our key findings we conclude that sub-decimetre terrain change (in this case coastal erosion) can be monitored.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Research Division: | Earth Sciences |
| Research Group: | Physical geography and environmental geoscience |
| Research Field: | Physical geography and environmental geoscience not elsewhere classified |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
| Objective Group: | Management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments |
| Objective Field: | Assessment and management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystems |
| UTAS Author: | Harwin, S (Mr Stephen Harwin) |
| UTAS Author: | Lucieer, A (Professor Arko Lucieer) |
| ID Code: | 79081 |
| Year Published: | 2012 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 425 |
| Deposited By: | Geography and Environmental Studies |
| Deposited On: | 2012-08-16 |
| Last Modified: | 2022-08-26 |
| Downloads: | 555 View Download Statistics |
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