Automated in-track and cross-track airborne flash ladar image registration for wide-area mapping

Chung M. Wong; Jennifer E. Logan; Christopher Bracikowski; Brian K. Baldauf

doi:10.1117/12.849479

29 April 2010 Automated in-track and cross-track airborne flash ladar image registration for wide-area mapping

Chung M. Wong, Jennifer E. Logan, Christopher Bracikowski, Brian K. Baldauf

Proceedings Volume 7684, Laser Radar Technology and Applications XV; 76840S (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.849479
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2010, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

We demonstrate a numerical technique for registering multiple frames of point cloud data from an airborne 3D flash ladar system that we have designed, built, and flown. This technique stitches together ladar data even in the presence of inaccuracies in the line-of-sight pointing knowledge as well as instabilities in the time-of-flight clock frequency. The technique performs frame-to-frame in-track as well as cross-track stitching of multiple flight line data to create large area maps of urban areas and vegetation. Filters remove data with spurious range values and high intensity specular back flashes such as those from bodies of water. Signal averaging of nearly overlapping pixel data creates monolithic, wide area 3D maps that are geo-located and thus readily superimposable with other types of sensor data, such as hyperspectral images, for fused-data exploitations. The accuracy of the numerical technique used for stitching data from different target types, such as urban, vegetation, or bare earth, was studied. This analysis provides guidance for future improvements of algorithms used for registering airborne 3D flash ladar point cloud data sets.

Citation Download Citation

Chung M. Wong, Jennifer E. Logan, Christopher Bracikowski, and Brian K. Baldauf "Automated in-track and cross-track airborne flash ladar image registration for wide-area mapping", Proc. SPIE 7684, Laser Radar Technology and Applications XV, 76840S (29 April 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.849479

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