Determination of 3D object coordinates from overlapping omni-directional images acquired by a mobile mapping system

This research aims to develop a method to determine the 3D coordinates of an object point from overlapping omnidirectional images acquired by a ground mobile mapping system and assess their accuracies. In the proposed method, we first define an individual coordinate system on each sensor and the object space and determine the geometric relationships between the systems. Based on these systems and their relationships, we derive a straight line of the corresponding object point candidates for a point of an omni-directional image, and determine the 3D coordinates of the object point by intersecting a pair of straight lines derived from a pair of matched points. We have compared the object coordinates determined through the proposed method with those measured by GPS and a total station for the accuracy assessment and analysis. According to the experimental results, with the appropriate length of baseline and mutual positions between cameras and objects, we can determine the relative coordinates of the object point with the accuracy of several centimeters. The accuracy of the absolute coordinates is ranged from several centimeters to 1 m due to systematic errors. In the future, we plan to improve the accuracy of absolute coordinates by determining more precisely the relationship between the camera and GPS/INS coordinates and performing the calibration of the omni-directional camera.