Using the Resolution Capability and the Effective Number of Measurements to Select the “Right” Terrestrial Laser Scanner

Berit Schmitz, Daniel Coopmann, Heiner Kuhlmann, Christoph Holst

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

The point-to-point distance, the spot size and its shape limit the minimum size of objects that can be spatially resolved in a TLS point cloud. As the laser beam has a footprint of at least a few millimeters, adjacent laser spots overlap if the sampling interval is chosen small. Thus, they do not provide individual information about the object surface and they are correlated. To evaluate the performance of different terrestrial laser scanners to resolve small objects spatially, we investigate their resolution capabilities. Our results show that the expansion and the magnitude of the resolution capability vary between the scanners due to the different focusing and shape of the laser beam, and the rotational speed of the deflecting mirror. Furthermore, we use the resolution capability to assess which scanner provides the most uncorrelated information. Thus, this study provides a measure to judge the scanners’ usability for specific applications, such as finding a crack in a wall.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSpringer Proceedings in Earth and Environmental Sciences
PublisherSpringer Nature
Pages85-97
Number of pages13
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameSpringer Proceedings in Earth and Environmental Sciences
ISSN (Print)2524-342X
ISSN (Electronic)2524-3438

Keywords

  • Correlation
  • Laser spot
  • Level-of-detail
  • Resolution
  • Stochastic model

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Using the Resolution Capability and the Effective Number of Measurements to Select the “Right” Terrestrial Laser Scanner'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this