Automatic registration of terrestrial laser scanner data via imagery

Abstract

The registration of point clouds forms the first task associated with building 3D models from laser scanner data in cases where multiple scans are required for complete coverage of the scene or object being recorded. This paper presents an automatic registration method for terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) data in which the transformation parameters of one data set with respect to another are determined via 3D similarity transformation. Coded targets placed on the object are imaged using a calibrated digital camera, rigidly attached to the laser scanner. These coded targets are identified, measured and labelled automatically in the imagery from each TLS station. The spatial position and orient..