Date of Award:

5-2016

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Committee Chair(s)

Scott E. Budge

Committee

Scott E. Budge

Committee

Jacob H. Gunther

Committee

Don L. Cripps

Abstract

The process of creating a 3D terrain map of an area is a challenging, computationally intensive task. There are two main camps of established methods doing this, with varying degrees of accuracy and cost. Using the established methods, there is a trade-off between accuracy and cost. The first method involves using many aerial images to detect disparity between points in the images. This is a difficult task as it requires a lot of computer processing with varying degrees of reliability. In addition, this method does not make any direct distance measurements. Secondly, using high-precision and high-cost lasers and positioning equipment, measurements can be taken with a high degree of accuracy. The cost of this is not insignificant.

In order to combine the two methods, this thesis describes an automatic process which is a hybrid mixture of the afore-mentioned methods. Utah State University has developed the concept of a texel camera, which takes both laser measurements and a digital imagery together in a calibrated fashion. Using both the digital image and laser measurements, the process described in this thesis enable the formation of a 3D terrain map with almost no human intervention.

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