Multisensor fusion for volumetric reconstruction of large outdoor areas

This paper presents techniques for the merging of 3D data coming from different sensors, such as ground and aerial laser range scans. The 3D models created are reconstructed to give a photo-realistic scene enabling interactive virtual walkthroughs, measurements and scene change analysis. The reconstructed model is based on a weighted integration of all available data based on sensor-specific parameters such as noise level, accuracy, inclination and reflectivity of the target, spatial distribution of points. The geometry is robustly reconstructed with a volumetric approach. Once registered and weighed, all data is re-sampled in a multi-resolution distance field using out-of-core techniques. The final mesh is extracted by contouring the iso-surface with a feature preserving dual contouring algorithm. The paper shows results of the above technique applied to Verona (Italy) city centre.