First Results of a Tandem Terrestrial-Unmanned Aerial mapKITE System with Kinematic Ground Control Points for Corridor Mapping

Abstract

Abstract:In this article, we report about the first results of the mapKITE system, a tandem terrestrial-aerial concept for geodata acquisition and processing, obtained in corridor mapping missions. The system combines an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and a Terrestrial Mobile Mapping System (TMMS) operated in a singular way: real-time waypoints are computed from the TMMS platform and sent to the UAS in a follow-me scheme. This approach leads to a simultaneous acquisition of aerial-plus-ground geodata and, moreover, opens the door to an advanced post-processing approach for sensor orientation. The current contribution focuses on analysing the impact of the new, dynamic Kinematic Ground Control Points (KGCPs), which arise inherently from the mapKITE paradigm, as an alternative to conventional, costly Ground Control Points (GCPs). In the frame of a mapKITE campaign carried out in June 2016, we present results entailing sensor orientation and calibration accuracy assessment through ground check points, and precision and correlation analysis of self-calibration parameters' estimation. Conclusions indicate that the mapKITE concept eliminates the need for GCPs when using only KGCPs plus a couple of GCPs at each corridor end, achieving check point horizontal accuracy of µ E,N ≈ 1.7 px (3.4 cm) and µ h ≈ 4.3 px (8.6 cm). Since obtained from a simplified version of the system, these preliminary results are encouraging from a future perspective.

Corridor Mapping of Sandy Coastal Foredunes with UAS Photogrammetry and Mobile Laser Scanning

“…From a geo-referencing standpoint, mapKITE offers the advantage of largely avoiding GCPs by using automatically measured KGCPs. Doing so, mapKITE delivers similar accuracy as GCP-based ISO in road corridor mapping [24].…”

“…From a geo-referencing standpoint, mapKITE offers the advantage of largely avoiding GCPs by using automatically measured KGCPs. Doing so, mapKITE delivers similar accuracy as GCP-based ISO in road corridor mapping [24].The method also appears well-suited to surveying long coastal stretches, as it has potential to mitigate the time-consuming GCP deployment. To this end, in September 2018, an experiment was set up along the southwest coast of France, to compare the performance of the different mapKITE components.The comparison between airborne laser scanning and large-format photogrammetry is not a new topic [25].…”

“…The ground vehicle loaded with the MLS also carried an optical target on its roof, facing upwards ( Figure 2b). The target is a slightly modified version from that in reference [24] and enables KGCP photogrammetric measurements in the aerial images. These measurements are related to the high-accuracy MLS trajectory through precisely measured geometric relations in the installation of the target.…”

Camera preparation and performance for 3D luminance mapping of road environments

“…MLS point clouds have been used for feature extraction. The luminance mapping can even be part of the future tandem mobile-UAV collaborative system (Molina et al, 2017). Tandem mobile-UAV collaborative systems are not limited to the eye-of-sight problems related to UAVs, and thus these systems are extremely feasible for corridor mapping applications.…”

Co‐registration of panoramic mobile mapping images and oblique aerial images

“…On the other hand, post-processing approaches traditionally rely on GCPs, which are introduced into the adjustment (Cavegn et al, 2016;Hofmann and Brenner, 2016;Han and Lo, 2017;Molina et al, 2017). This proved to be accurate but is labour intensive and thus costly.…”