ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
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Articles | Volume IV-1/W1
https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-IV-1-W1-207-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-IV-1-W1-207-2017
30 May 2017
 | 30 May 2017

SYSTEM DESIGN, CALIBRATION AND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF A NOVEL 360° STEREO PANORAMIC MOBILE MAPPING SYSTEM

S. Blaser, S. Nebiker, and S. Cavegn

Keywords: Fisheye Stereo, Panorama, Mobile Mapping, Calibration, Epipolar Rectification, 3D City Model

Abstract. Image-based mobile mapping systems enable the efficient acquisition of georeferenced image sequences, which can later be exploited in cloud-based 3D geoinformation services. In order to provide a 360° coverage with accurate 3D measuring capabilities, we present a novel 360° stereo panoramic camera configuration. By using two 360° panorama cameras tilted forward and backward in combination with conventional forward and backward looking stereo camera systems, we achieve a full 360° multi-stereo coverage. We furthermore developed a fully operational new mobile mapping system based on our proposed approach, which fulfils our high accuracy requirements. We successfully implemented a rigorous sensor and system calibration procedure, which allows calibrating all stereo systems with a superior accuracy compared to that of previous work. Our study delivered absolute 3D point accuracies in the range of 4 to 6 cm and relative accuracies of 3D distances in the range of 1 to 3 cm. These results were achieved in a challenging urban area. Furthermore, we automatically reconstructed a 3D city model of our study area by employing all captured and georeferenced mobile mapping imagery. The result is a very high detailed and almost complete 3D city model of the street environment.