Scanners Accurrcy PDF
Scanners Accurrcy PDF
Scanners Accurrcy PDF
Scanning (TLS)
• Similar to Sonar and Radar but uses Light (Light
Detection and Ranging)
• Initial of LiDAR use began in the 1960’s in studies of
atmospheric composition, surveying, law enforcement,
etc.
• Transmits a pulse of light and records the returned pulse
of light – records time, divides by two, and multiplies by
the speed of light for distance
• Able to record thousands of points a second recording
target position (X,Y,Z), intensity, and color (RBG)
• Capable of relative positioning at mm to cm accuracy
LASER SCANNERS
• Beam deflection mechanism provides elevation and azimuth
of the transmitted pulse
Transmitter
Receiver
Laptop
Terrestrial
Laser
Controls to Scanner
align all the (LPM 800)
scanning
data
Field Equipment
Camera Tripod
Topcon RTK GPS
Totalstation
Imagine
System
Integrating geometry with texture by position
control
Camera
GPS Imaging Total Station
Nikon D200
OR
TOPCON HIPER LITE+ - RTK GPS SYSTEM
TOPCON IS
Total Station
TOPCON Total Station
Examples of controls
Scanner Parameters
• Beam Divergence
• Angular Step
• Range Distance
• Field of View
• Points Per Second
• Size and Weight
Scanner Parameters
• Beam Divergence
Df = (Divergence * d) + Di
Scanner Parameters
Scanner Parameters
• Angular Step
Spacing = d(m)*TAN(step)
Scanner Parameters
Scanner Parameters
• Range Distance
Target Reflectance can change single scan range by hundreds of meters
Laser and CCD characteristics impact maximum and minimum range
distances from <5 meters to >2000 (6000) meters
• Field of View
Rotational Base allows 360 degree rotation (azimuth)
Rotating mirror and gear drive allows ~90 degree vertical coverage
• Unfortunately, the specs units are not radians (2π radians in a circle). If
they were radians, a very rapid approximation of the stepping distance in
meters can be made mentally. For small angles,
Stepping Distance = (angle in radians) * distance
e.g. Stepping Angle = 0.00005 radians (.05 mRadians)
Stepping Distance (@800m) = 0.00005* 800 = 4 cm
The return signal at the laser is substantially lower than the signal that is
emitted by the laser.
The example above assumes that the laser beam is 1 cm2 when it leaves the
laser and that the window to the receiver has an aperture area of 1 cm2 and
that the feature being imaged is 100 cm2.
Diffuse reflection for reflectorless laser
rangefinders
Laser beam
with 3 milliradian div. Target
LIDAR emits a short pulse of light and measures the time for the return
signal to reach the detector. Light travels at about 0.33 m / ns in air.
Distance = ½ * time of flight * velocity of light. Enough returned energy
must be received at the LIDAR detector to trigger the timing circuitry. If
the signal is very strong, the detector threshold will be reached faster than
if the signal is very weak. LIDAR detectors must compensate for this
effect in order to provide accurate measurement of distance.
LASER SCANNER ACCURACY
• Boehler, Vincent and Marbs, 2003.
• Tested scanners for accuracy
• Application was for cultural heritage
applications (we will revisit for natural
surfaces)
• Manufacturer specifications not good
representation for real-world applications
LASER SCANNER ACCURACY
• Angular accuracy
– Angles from combination of deflection of rotating
mirrors and rotation about a mechanical axis
– Provides azimuthal position
• Range accuracy
– Time of flight or phase comparison between
outgoing and returning signal provides range
– Noise-fuzz of points on a flat surface
LASER SCANNER ACCURACY
• Resolution
– Ability to detect an object in point cloud
– Two specs contribute
• Smallest increment of angle between successive points
(can manually set)
• Size of laser spot (beam dispersion)
• Edge effects
– When a spot hits the edge of a target and receives
2 positions and/or 2 reflectivity values (material)
LASER SCANNER ACCURACY
• Surface reflectivity
– Distance, atmospheric, incidence angle
– Albedo (ability to reflect)
• White strong, black weak
• Depends on spectra of the laser (green, red, near IR)
• Inclined surfaces of high reflectance (i.e., water ) can
create travel time anomalies (mutlipathing)
– Typically contribute accuracy-range errors larger
than manufacture specifications
Environmental Conditions
• Temperature (important to operate within
specification range)
• Atmosphere
– changes propagation speed slightly
– dust, mist, raindrops, fog - a major problem
• Interfering radiation
– Sunlight strong relative to signal
• Influence or prevent (don’t shoot into sun)
Survey Control
• Surface referencing (using recognizable
physiographic features)
• Targets (reflectors and/or prisms)
• Geo-referencing (Total Station and GPS
positioning)
• Multiple scan registration requires tight spatial
control
Calibration
• Repeatability
– Need to document multiple measurements of
known geometry
– Compare with allowable variance
• Quality Control
– Multiple measurements of known geometry with
multiple scanner positions
Resolution
Range
Measurement Accuracy
• The ability to generate physical dimensions
and location of an object
– Specified with a tolerance, e.g. +/- 6 mm
(and a confidence interval)
– Not a laser scanner specification but a work
product specification
Resolution and Measurement Accuracy
overhang
Moab Utah
Scan Partition as a Function of Range
Scan Partition as a Function of Angle of Incidence
Scan Partitioning Avoids Unnecessary Scan Time
Scan Partitioning
Scanning of the total outcrop at the scan step angle needed for the longest
scan would have dramatically increased the scan time.
Scanning the outcrop in a single scan which covered the entire outcrop would
Result in a large amount of empty data.
Placement and Survey of the Controls
• Use of scanned control reflectors improves the accuracy of the model and
allows straight forward alignment of the individual scans
• Alignment of two scans requires an absolute minimum of three control
points. It is best to have five or more available to accommodate errors.
• If multiple scan sites are used, it is not necessary to have all control
reflectors visible from all of the scan sites. However, it is necessary that
each scan site be able to see at least three reflectors that have been
correlated with other scan sites
• The control reflectors should cover a wide area (preferably surrounding
the image area), do not place reflectors in a linear fashion or group them
in a tightly.
• The spacing of the reflectors optimally approximates or exceeds the
distances in the scan region. However, this may not be practical.
• It is not necessary to have reflectors on the outcrop and/or within the
image area, although it is desirable to do so if practical and is aesthetically
acceptable (for photorealistic analysis).
Placement and Survey of the Controls
Scan Reflectors before Scanning Outcrop
• It is prudent to scan the reflectors before scanning the
outcrop.
– If you do not have the controls with the scan data, you may not be
able to use the scans
– If something happens to disorient the scanner or there is a power or
software crash during the subsequent scans, the work up to that point
can still be used
– For double protection, rescan at least some of the reflectors after
completing the outcrop scan. If the scanner has lost alignment, the
final reflector scan will identify the problem.
• When using the LPM with the telescopic sight, the scan
window must be larger than expected. There is parallax
between the scanner and the telescope. This is a much larger
problem at close range than at long range.
Collecting Field Data
GPS Control
Scan Pos 1
GPS
Photo Control
Collecting Field Data
Scan Pos 1
GPS
Collecting Field Data
Scan Pos 1
GPS
Collecting Field Data
GPS
Scan Pos 2
Collecting Field Data
GPS
Scan Pos 2
Collecting Field Data
GPS
Scan Pos 2
Collecting Field Data
Photos
Photos
Photos
Geospatial Referencing: GPS
Summary of the approximate accuracy of GPS positioning versus methods. (Modified from
Featherstone, 1995)
High-Resolution Geospatial Referencing: GPS
and Total Station
DETAILED
AREA
470M
ZOOM of DOQ
Riegl Z360 mapping fairly flat surface
Actual examples of scans at MHS with RGB
channel so points are colored (not external
camera)
Scans 2, 3 and 4 are of detailed areas
Scans in southern area
Rotation of initial scan.
Note vegetation
Another perspective. Note shadows with
no points.
Perpendicular perspective
Example of merged scans
(reflectance image)
Color Version
Merged surface fit