Surveying method, surveying system and surveying data processing program

• US 8,045,762 B2
• Filed: 09/04/2007
• Issued: 10/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Inventors: Ito, Tadayuki, Otani, Hitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tabatabai; Abolfazl
• Application Number:
  US11/899,051
• Publication Number:
  US 20080075326A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,512 Days
• Field of Search: 382/109, 382/154, 382/318, 382/319, 356/3.09, 356/4.01, 356/918, 356/919, 348/42, 348/51, 348/67, 348 96-100, 348/195, 348/201, 348/206, 358/474, 358/487, 358/505, 358/506, 705/14.44, 725/9
• US Class Current: 382/109
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 11/025 by scanning the object
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 11/06 by comparison of two or more pictures of the same area
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/00 Measuring distances in line of sight; Optical rangefinders tapes, chains or wheels for measuring length G01B3/00; active triangulation systems, i.e. using the transmission and reflection of electromagnetic waves other than radio waves, G01S17/48
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/42 Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates indirect measurement G01S17/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/89 for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4817 relating to scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10012 Stereo images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10028 Range image; Depth image; 3D point clouds
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30184 Infrastructure
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/521 from laser ranging, e.g. using interferometry; from the projection of structured light
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/55 from multiple images

Abstract

There are provided a step of acquiring a main point cloud data on a predetermined measurement range by a laser scanner, a step of detecting a range with no data acquired, a step of acquiring a supplementary image data of the range with no data acquired by an auxiliary image pickup device, a step of preparing a stereoscopic image based on the supplementary image data obtained by the auxiliary image pickup device, a step of acquiring supplementary point cloud data from the stereoscopic image, and a step of supplementing the range with no data acquired of the main point cloud data by matching of the main point cloud data and the supplementary point cloud data.

Claims

1. A surveying method, comprising a step of acquiring a main point cloud data on a predetermined measurement range by a laser scanner, a step of detecting a range with no data acquired, a step of acquiring a supplementary image data of the range with no data acquired by an auxiliary image pickup device, a step of preparing a stereoscopic image based on the supplementary image data obtained by said auxiliary image pickup device, a step of acquiring supplementary point cloud data from the stereoscopic image, and a step of supplementing the range with no data acquired of said main point cloud data by matching of the main point cloud data and the supplementary point cloud data.

2. A surveying method according to claim 1, wherein said laser scanner acquires the point cloud data and a main image data associated with the point cloud data.

3. A surveying method according to claim 2, wherein the matching of said main point cloud data and said supplementary point cloud data is performed by image matching of said main image data and said supplementary image data.

4. A surveying method according to claim 1, wherein the matching of said main point cloud data and said supplementary point cloud data is performed by association of reference points adequately selected from said main point cloud data and points in said supplementary point cloud data corresponding to said reference points.

5. A surveying method according to claim 1, wherein the range with no data acquired is a range adjacent to the measurement range.

6. A surveying method according to claim 1, wherein the range with no data acquired is a data-lacking portion, for which point data could not be obtained by the laser scanner.

7. A surveying method according to claim 1, wherein the range with no data acquired is identified by displaying the main point cloud data in a display unit.

8. A surveying method according to claim 1, wherein the range with no data acquired is identified by detecting a boundary where adjacent point data on the inner side is lacking in the main point cloud data.

9. A surveying system, comprising a laser scanner for scanning a predetermined measurement area by projecting a pulsed laser beam, for receiving a reflected light of the pulsed laser beam, for measuring three-dimensional position data of a projecting point of the pulsed laser beam for each pulse, and for acquiring a main point cloud data of the measurement area, an auxiliary image pickup device being separated from said laser scanner and being able to acquire a supplementary image data from an arbitrary direction, and a surveying data processing device including a storage unit, an arithmetic control unit and a display unit, wherein a main point cloud data acquired by said laser scanner and a supplementary image data acquired by taking images of the range with no data acquired of the laser scanner from at least two directions by said auxiliary image pickup device are registered in said storage unit, and wherein said arithmetic control unit prepares a stereoscopic image based on said supplementary image data, acquires supplementary point cloud data on said range with no data acquired, associates the supplementary point cloud data with said main point cloud data, and supplements the range with no data acquired of the main point cloud data by the supplementary point cloud data.

10. A surveying system according to claim 9, wherein said laser scanner comprises a main image pickup device for acquiring a main image data by taking an image of the measurement area on an image pickup light optical axis coaxial with a projection light optical axis of the pulsed laser beam.

11. A surveying system according to claim 10, wherein the main image data taken by said main image pickup device is associated with said main point cloud data and is registered in said surveying data processing device together with said main point cloud data, wherein said surveying data processing device associates said main point cloud data with said supplementary point cloud data through image matching of the main image data and the supplementary image data.

12. A surveying system according to claim 9, wherein the association of said supplementary point cloud data with said main point cloud data is performed by association of reference points selected from said main point cloud data and points in said supplementary point cloud data corresponding to the reference points.

13. A surveying system according to claim 9, wherein said arithmetic control unit displays individually on said display unit at least said main point cloud data among said main image data, said main point cloud data, said supplementary image data and said supplementary point cloud data.

14. A Surveying data processing program stored on a computer-readable medium for executing a step to detect a range with no data acquired in main point cloud data on a predetermined measurement area obtained by a laser scanner, a step to calculate supplementary point cloud data of the range with no data acquired based on supplementary image data of the range with no data acquired from at least two directions taken by an auxiliary image pickup device, a step to perform matching of said main point cloud data and said supplementary point cloud data, and a step to supplement the range with no data acquired of said main point cloud data by said supplementary point cloud data.

15. A surveying data processing program according to claim 14, wherein the step to perform matching of said main point cloud data with said supplementary point cloud data is executed by a step to select adequate reference points from said main point cloud data, a step to select points in said supplementary point cloud data corresponding to the reference points, and a step to perform association of the selected reference points and said corresponding points.

16. A surveying data processing program according to claim 14, wherein said range with no data acquired is identified by detection of a boundary where adjacent point data on the inner side is lacking in said main point cloud data.

17. A surveying data processing program according to claim 14, wherein the step to perform matching of said main point cloud data with said supplementary point cloud data is executed by a step to perform image matching of an image data of the measurement area associated with said main point cloud data and the supplementary image data of said range with no data acquired.

18. A surveying data processing program according to claim 14, wherein, among main image data acquiring the measurement area coaxial with a measuring light optical axis by a main image pickup device disposed on said laser scanner, said main point cloud data, said supplementary image data and said supplementary point cloud data, at least said main point cloud data is individually displayed.