Generation and Quality Assessment of Stereo-Extracted DSM From GeoEye-1 and WorldView-2 Imagery

Manuel Angel Aguilar, Maria del Mar Saldana, Fernando Jose Aguilar
2014 IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing  
Digital surface models (DSMs) extracted from 15 different stereo pairs attained by the combination of GeoEye-1 (GE1) and WorldView-2 (WV2) panchromatic very high resolution (VHR) satellite images are tested. Two of them are pure same-date along-track stereo pairs, one from each VHR satellite, whereas the rest are mixed multidate across-track ones. A quality assessment on the DSMs extracted from the aforementioned stereo pairs, involving both accuracy and completeness, is carried out. Several
more » ... tors are tested such as sensor model used in the bundle adjustment, number of ground control points (GCPs), radiometric characteristics, satellite imaging geometry, time between acquisition dates, and target land cover. A highly accurate light detection and ranging elevation data is used as ground truth. Overall, 3-D rational functions refined by a zero-order polynomial adjustment by using 7 or 12 GCPs performed slightly better regarding both DSM vertical accuracy and completeness. In relation to the pure stereo pairs, the DSM extracted from the GE1 stereo pair attained better vertical accuracy over the whole study area (90th percentile linear error, LE90, of 2.04 m) but lower completeness (74.50%) than the WV2 one (2.56 m and 83.35%, respectively). The undergoing hypothesis is that the blurrier images from WV2 could have influenced in the improvement of the matching success rate while reducing the vertical accuracy of extracted points. When all the 15 stereo pairs are considered, the vertical accuracy mainly depends on the convergence angle. In addition, the temporal difference between acquisition dates turned out to be the most influential factor regarding completeness values. Index Terms-Accuracy, digital elevation models (DEM), earth observing system, error analysis, satellites, terrain mapping. Manuel Ángel Aguilar received the Agricultural Engineering degree and the Dr.Ing. degrees from the University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain, in 1996 and 2001, respectively. He has been a Professor of drawing engineering with the Almería Engineering High School, University of Almería, Almería, Spain, since 1999, after two years with a Spanish engineering company. He is currently a Senior Lecturer with the University of Almería, working with the Department of Engineering. Recently, he has led same research projects based on very high resolution commercial satellite imagery (mainly IKONOS, QuickBird, GeoEye-1 and WorldView-2) where the aims were sensor orientations for single and stereo images, ortorectification stage, classification of land cover, as well as the generation and quality control of DSMs. His current research project is focused on the latest breed of Very High Resolution satellite imagery. His current research interests include close-range, airborne, and spaceborne VIR digital photogrammetry. 13 Multisource geospatial data integration and mining for the monitoring and modelling of coastal areas evolution and vulnerability. He has authored several international publications and also a peer-reviewer of main GIS and Remote Sensing journals all over the world. His current research interests include digital elevation models, remote sensing, digital photogrammetry, and GIS.
doi:10.1109/tgrs.2013.2249521 fatcat:pmgyjexicvb3lotbro4rc4c3a4