Integration of LiDAR data and optical multi-view images for 3D reconstruction of building roofs

An approach by integrating airborne LiDAR data and optical multi-view aerial imagery is presented for automatic reconstruction of 3D building roof models. It includes two main steps: roof point segmentation and 3D roof model reconstruction. A coarse-to-fine LiDAR data segmentation is proposed to separate LiDAR points of a building into a set of roof planar segments, which includes initial segmentation by using point normal estimate, and segmentation refinement by using a new Shrink-Expand technique. A point-based integration mechanism by incorporating the segmented roof points and 2D lines extracted from optical multi-view aerial images is then proposed for 3D step line determination, with which 3D roof models are reconstructed. The experimental results indicate that the proposed approach can provide high-quality 3D roof models with diverse roof structure complexities.

► We propose an approach for the integration of LiDAR data and optical multi-view aerial images. ► The complementary data characteristics of LiDAR data and optical multi-view aerial images are dug for the derivation of high-quality products. ► The integration approach can provide more reliable and more accurate 3D building roof models.