United States Department of Transportation
i
Assessing Close-Range Photogrammetry as an Alternative for LiDAR Technology at UDOT Divisions
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2020-06-01
[PDF-5.09 MB]
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Edition:Final, August 2019 to October 2020
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Abstract:LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a mature and efficient technology currently used by various divisions of UDOT (asset management, traffic control, pavement, construction, etc.). Some of the current applications of LiDAR at UDOT (as well as other DOTs) include: asset management for roads and buildings, quality control of pavements and other infrastructure surfaces, 3D as-built documentation of constructed facilities, etc. While effective, there are some limitations in using LiDAR as a common engineering tool: The technology is pretty expensive, certain levels of expertise and training are required to use LiDAR scanners for data collection and processing results, and finally it might not be available for all units and individuals. Close-range photogrammetry is another emerging technology that could be considered as a potential alternative for LiDAR scanning devices. The technology is based on processing images and videos simply captured by off-the-shelf cameras or smartphones. Unlike LiDAR, close-range photogrammetry is very cost effective, simple, and easy-to-use. There is no need for extra hardware settings and almost everyone has a smartphone or camera so collecting and processing data is very feasible. Within the last decade, several software packages in the area of close-range photogrammetry have been introduced for research, education, and commercial purposes. Some examples are Autodesk Recap; Agisoft Photoscan; 3DF Zephyr; VisualSFM; and Photomodeler. The outputs of both LiDAR and Photogrammetric technologies are in the form of dense point clouds. While the output of the two methods are similar, there might be differences in level of accuracy and density of the generated point clouds. In addition, each method might work differently under certain conditions such as scanning shiny and reflective objects, sharp edges, etc. Despite the increasing popularity of close-range photogrammetry, it has not been considered as a practical scanning tool by UDOT divisions yet. This project aims to address this important issue by exploring the feasibility of using this technology for various applications currently handled by LiDAR at UDOT.
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