Effects of cubesat design parameters on image quality and feature extraction for 3D reconstruction

This paper reports the initial investigation of the use of cube-satellites (cubesats) for image-based, three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction. Cubesats are emerging as a low-cost, inexpensive, and quickly deployable alternative to their larger satellite predecessors but their functionality is limited by the payload and bus electronics that can fit in the minimal volume. This paper addresses the impact of the spatial resolution limitation of state-of-the-art cubesat imagers on 3D reconstruction, which is assessed with building height and surface normal measurements. For the nadir ground-sampled distance (GSD) range of 0.25 to 2 m, reconstruction results yielded building height estimates that varied by approximately two meters and surface normal estimates with an error ranging from 1-29 degrees depending on the complexity of the surface.