Combining Nadir, Oblique, and Façade Imagery Enhances Reconstruction of Rock Formations Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Type
ArticleAuthors
Tu, Yu-Hsuan
Johansen, Kasper
Aragon Solorio, Bruno Jose Luis
Stutsel, Bonny M.
Angel, Yoseline

Camargo, Omar A. López
Al-Mashharawi, Samir K. M.
Jiang, Jiale

Ziliani, Matteo G.
McCabe, Matthew

KAUST Department
Hydrology, Agriculture and Land Observation Group, Water Desalination and Reuse Center, KAUST, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi ArabiaWater Desalination and Reuse Research Center (WDRC)
Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) Division
Environmental Science and Engineering Program
Environmental Science and Engineering
Date
2021Submitted Date
2020-11-19Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/666887
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Developments in computer vision, such as structure from motion and multiview stereo reconstruction, have enabled a range of photogrammetric applications using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)-based imagery. However, some specific cases still present reconstruction challenges, including survey areas composed of steep, overhanging, or vertical rock formations. Here, the suitability and geometric accuracy of four UAV-based image acquisition and data processing scenarios for topographic surveying applications in complex terrain are assessed and compared. The specific cases include the use of: 1) nadir imagery; 2) nadir and oblique imagery; 3) nadir and façade imagery; and 4) nadir, oblique, and façade imagery to reconstruct a topographically complex natural surface. Results illustrate that including oblique and façade imagery to supplement the more traditional nadir collections significantly improves the geometric accuracy of point cloud data reconstruction by approximately 35% when assessed against terrestrial laser scanning data of near-vertical rock walls. Most points (99.41%) had distance errors of less than 50 cm between the point clouds derived from the nadir imagery and nadir-oblique-façade imagery. Apart from delivering enhanced spatial resolution in façade details, the geometric accuracy improvements achieved from integrating nadir, oblique, and façade imagery provide value for a range of applications, including geotechnical and geohazard investigations. Such gains are particularly relevant for studies assessing rock integrity and stability, and engineering design, planning, and construction, where information on the position of rock cracks, joints, faults, shears, and bedding planes may be required.Citation
Tu, Y.-H., Johansen, K., Aragon, B., Stutsel, B. M., Angel, Y., Camargo, O. A. L., … McCabe, M. F. (2021). Combining Nadir, Oblique, and Façade Imagery Enhances Reconstruction of Rock Formations Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 1–13. doi:10.1109/tgrs.2020.3047435Publisher
IEEEAdditional Links
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9318516/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=9318516
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1109/TGRS.2020.3047435
Scopus Count
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