In this paper we present a new technique for texturing a Digital Surface Map (DSM) formed using a series of texel images (fused digital image/lidar) taken from a low-cost small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). In previous algorithms, an orthonormal view and a single beam had been used to texture the output DSM. The problem of using orthorectified texture obtained from such a view and a lidar scanner with multiple beams is addressed, and a new technique is described where the texture is selected based on the orientation of the triangular mesh formed by tessellating the 3D points from the lidar point cloud. This paper demonstrates the improvement in quality of the output textured DSM when viewed from various viewpoints in a 3D viewer. The stretched pixels are reduced and the texture of the side of objects is greatly improved. The final output textured DSM is shown and the improvement over the previous method is reported.

Date Published: 2 May 2019
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 11005, Laser Radar Technology and Applications XXIV, 110050G (2 May 2019); doi: 10.1117/12.2518967

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 11005:
Laser Radar Technology and Applications XXIV
Monte D. Turner; Gary W. Kamerman, Editor(s)