scholarly journals TESTING OF LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION FROM MULTISPECTRAL AIRBORNE LASER SCANNING DATA

Author(s):  
K. Bakuła ◽  
P. Kupidura ◽  
Ł. Jełowicki

Multispectral Airborne Laser Scanning provides a new opportunity for airborne data collection. It provides high-density topographic surveying and is also a useful tool for land cover mapping. Use of a minimum of three intensity images from a multiwavelength laser scanner and 3D information included in the digital surface model has the potential for land cover/use classification and a discussion about the application of this type of data in land cover/use mapping has recently begun. In the test study, three laser reflectance intensity images (orthogonalized point cloud) acquired in green, near-infrared and short-wave infrared bands, together with a digital surface model, were used in land cover/use classification where six classes were distinguished: water, sand and gravel, concrete and asphalt, low vegetation, trees and buildings. In the tested methods, different approaches for classification were applied: spectral (based only on laser reflectance intensity images), spectral with elevation data as additional input data, and spectro-textural, using morphological granulometry as a method of texture analysis of both types of data: spectral images and the digital surface model. The method of generating the intensity raster was also tested in the experiment. Reference data were created based on visual interpretation of ALS data and traditional optical aerial and satellite images. The results have shown that multispectral ALS data are unlike typical multispectral optical images, and they have a major potential for land cover/use classification. An overall accuracy of classification over 90% was achieved. The fusion of multi-wavelength laser intensity images and elevation data, with the additional use of textural information derived from granulometric analysis of images, helped to improve the accuracy of classification significantly. The method of interpolation for the intensity raster was not very helpful, and using intensity rasters with both first and last return numbers slightly improved the results.

Author(s):  
K. Bakuła ◽  
P. Kupidura ◽  
Ł. Jełowicki

Multispectral Airborne Laser Scanning provides a new opportunity for airborne data collection. It provides high-density topographic surveying and is also a useful tool for land cover mapping. Use of a minimum of three intensity images from a multiwavelength laser scanner and 3D information included in the digital surface model has the potential for land cover/use classification and a discussion about the application of this type of data in land cover/use mapping has recently begun. In the test study, three laser reflectance intensity images (orthogonalized point cloud) acquired in green, near-infrared and short-wave infrared bands, together with a digital surface model, were used in land cover/use classification where six classes were distinguished: water, sand and gravel, concrete and asphalt, low vegetation, trees and buildings. In the tested methods, different approaches for classification were applied: spectral (based only on laser reflectance intensity images), spectral with elevation data as additional input data, and spectro-textural, using morphological granulometry as a method of texture analysis of both types of data: spectral images and the digital surface model. The method of generating the intensity raster was also tested in the experiment. Reference data were created based on visual interpretation of ALS data and traditional optical aerial and satellite images. The results have shown that multispectral ALS data are unlike typical multispectral optical images, and they have a major potential for land cover/use classification. An overall accuracy of classification over 90% was achieved. The fusion of multi-wavelength laser intensity images and elevation data, with the additional use of textural information derived from granulometric analysis of images, helped to improve the accuracy of classification significantly. The method of interpolation for the intensity raster was not very helpful, and using intensity rasters with both first and last return numbers slightly improved the results.


Author(s):  
Leena Matikainen ◽  
Juha Hyyppä ◽  
Paula Litkey

During the last 20 years, airborne laser scanning (ALS), often combined with multispectral information from aerial images, has shown its high feasibility for automated mapping processes. Recently, the first multispectral airborne laser scanners have been launched, and multispectral information is for the first time directly available for 3D ALS point clouds. This article discusses the potential of this new single-sensor technology in map updating, especially in automated object detection and change detection. For our study, Optech Titan multispectral ALS data over a suburban area in Finland were acquired. Results from a random forests analysis suggest that the multispectral intensity information is useful for land cover classification, also when considering ground surface objects and classes, such as roads. An out-of-bag estimate for classification error was about 3% for separating classes asphalt, gravel, rocky areas and low vegetation from each other. For buildings and trees, it was under 1%. According to feature importance analyses, multispectral features based on several channels were more useful that those based on one channel. Automatic change detection utilizing the new multispectral ALS data, an old digital surface model (DSM) and old building vectors was also demonstrated. Overall, our first analyses suggest that the new data are very promising for further increasing the automation level in mapping. The multispectral ALS technology is independent of external illumination conditions, and intensity images produced from the data do not include shadows. These are significant advantages when the development of automated classification and change detection procedures is considered.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miłosz Mielcarek ◽  
Agnieszka Kamińska ◽  
Krzysztof Stereńczak

The rapid developments in the field of digital aerial photogrammetry (DAP) in recent years have increased interest in the application of DAP data for extracting three-dimensional (3D) models of forest canopies. This technology, however, still requires further investigation to confirm its reliability in estimating forest attributes in complex forest conditions. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of tree height estimation based on a crown height model (CHM) generated from the difference between a DAP-derived digital surface model (DSM) and an airborne laser scanning (ALS)-derived digital terrain model (DTM). The tree heights determined based on the DAP-CHM were compared with ground-based measurements and heights obtained using ALS data only (ALS-CHM). Moreover, tree- and stand-related factors were examined to evaluate the potential influence on the obtained discrepancies between ALS- and DAP-derived heights. The obtained results indicate that the differences between the means of field-measured heights and DAP-derived heights were statistically significant. The root mean square error (RMSE) calculated in the comparison of field heights and DAP-derived heights was 1.68 m (7.34%). The results obtained for the CHM generated using only ALS data produced slightly lower errors, with RMSE = 1.25 m (5.46%) on average. Both ALS and DAP displayed the tendency to underestimate tree heights compared to those measured in the field; however, DAP produced a higher bias (1.26 m) than ALS (0.88 m). Nevertheless, DAP heights were highly correlated with the heights measured in the field (R2 = 0.95) and ALS-derived heights (R2 = 0.97). Tree species and height difference (the difference between the reference tree height and mean tree height in a sample plot) had the greatest influence on the differences between ALS- and DAP-derived heights. Our study confirms that a CHM computed based on the difference between a DAP-derived DSM and an ALS-derived DTM can be successfully used to measure the height of trees in the upper canopy layer.


2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 1635-1649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Höfle ◽  
Michael Vetter ◽  
Norbert Pfeifer ◽  
Gottfried Mandlburger ◽  
Johann Stötter

Author(s):  
Leena Matikainen ◽  
Juha Hyyppä ◽  
Paula Litkey

During the last 20 years, airborne laser scanning (ALS), often combined with multispectral information from aerial images, has shown its high feasibility for automated mapping processes. Recently, the first multispectral airborne laser scanners have been launched, and multispectral information is for the first time directly available for 3D ALS point clouds. This article discusses the potential of this new single-sensor technology in map updating, especially in automated object detection and change detection. For our study, Optech Titan multispectral ALS data over a suburban area in Finland were acquired. Results from a random forests analysis suggest that the multispectral intensity information is useful for land cover classification, also when considering ground surface objects and classes, such as roads. An out-of-bag estimate for classification error was about 3% for separating classes asphalt, gravel, rocky areas and low vegetation from each other. For buildings and trees, it was under 1%. According to feature importance analyses, multispectral features based on several channels were more useful that those based on one channel. Automatic change detection utilizing the new multispectral ALS data, an old digital surface model (DSM) and old building vectors was also demonstrated. Overall, our first analyses suggest that the new data are very promising for further increasing the automation level in mapping. The multispectral ALS technology is independent of external illumination conditions, and intensity images produced from the data do not include shadows. These are significant advantages when the development of automated classification and change detection procedures is considered.


Author(s):  
E. Ahokas ◽  
J. Hyyppä ◽  
X. Yu ◽  
X. Liang ◽  
L. Matikainen ◽  
...  

This paper describes the possibilities of the Optech Titan multispectral airborne laser scanner in the fields of mapping and forestry. Investigation was targeted to six land cover classes. Multispectral laser scanner data can be used to distinguish land cover classes of the ground surface, including the roads and separate road surface classes. For forest inventory using point cloud metrics and intensity features combined, total accuracy of 93.5% was achieved for classification of three main boreal tree species (pine, spruce and birch).When using intensity features – without point height metrics - a classification accuracy of 91% was achieved for these three tree species. It was also shown that deciduous trees can be further classified into more species. We propose that intensity-related features and waveform-type features are combined with point height metrics for forest attribute derivation in area-based prediction, which is an operatively applied forest inventory process in Scandinavia. It is expected that multispectral airborne laser scanning can provide highly valuable data for city and forest mapping and is a highly relevant data asset for national and local mapping agencies in the near future.


2017 ◽  
Vol 755 ◽  
pp. 333-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Sobotka

The article presents new possibilities of earthworks designing on new elevation data of the Czech Republic. These new elevation data are the result of the airborne laser scanning of the Czech Republic, which replace the old one. The new digital elevation database is another source of elevation data, which can be used during earthworks designing. Furthermore, the paper presents two projects, where new elevation data were used in practice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (13) ◽  
pp. 2109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tristan R.H. Goodbody ◽  
Piotr Tompalski ◽  
Nicholas C. Coops ◽  
Chris Hopkinson ◽  
Paul Treitz ◽  
...  

Airborne laser scanning (ALS) systems tuned to the near-infrared (NIR; 1064 nm) wavelength have become the best available data source for characterizing vegetation structure. Proliferation of multi-spectral ALS (M-ALS) data with lasers tuned at two additional wavelengths (commonly 532 nm; green, and 1550 nm; short-wave infrared (SWIR)) has promoted interest in the benefit of additional wavelengths for forest inventory modelling. In this study, structural and intensity based M-ALS metrics were derived from wavelengths independently and combined to assess their value for modelling forest inventory attributes (Lorey’s height (HL), gross volume (V), and basal area (BA)) and overstorey species diversity (Shannon index (H), Simpson index (D), and species richness (R)) in a diverse mixed-wood forest in Ontario, Canada. The area-based approach (ABA) to forest attribute modelling was used, where structural- and intensity-based metrics were calculated and used as inputs for random forest models. Structural metrics from the SWIR channel (SWIRstruc) were found to be the most accurate for H and R (%RMSE = 14.3 and 14.9), and NIRstruc were most accurate for V (%RMSE = 20.4). The addition of intensity metrics marginally increased the accuracy of HL models for SWIR and combined channels (%RMSE = 7.5). Additionally, a multi-resolution (0.5, 1, 2 m) voxel analysis was performed, where intensity data were used to calculate a suite of spectral indices. Plot-level summaries of spectral indices from each voxel resolution alone, as well as combined with structural metrics from the NIR wavelength, were used as random forest predictors. The addition of structural metrics from the NIR band reduced %RMSE for all models with HL, BA, and V realizing the largest improvements. Intensity metrics were found to be important variables in the 1 m and 2 m voxel models for D and H. Overall, results indicated that structural metrics were the most appropriate. However, the inclusion of intensity metrics, and continued testing of their potential for modelling diversity indices is warranted, given minor improvements when included. Continued analyses using M-ALS intensity metrics and voxel-based indices would help to better understand the value of these data, and their future role in forest management.


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