ISPRS-Archives ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ISPRS-Archives Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci. 2194-9034 Copernicus Publications Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W8-229-2017 PRELIMINARY TESTS OF A NEW LOW-COST PHOTOGRAMMETRIC SYSTEM Santise M. 1 2 Thoeni K. 1 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7351-7447 Roncella R. 2 Sloan S. W. 1 Giacomini A. 1 Centre for Geotechnical Science and Engineering, The University of Newcastle, 2308 Callaghan, Australia Dept. of Engineering and Architecture, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze, 181/A, 43124 Parma 14 11 2017 XLII-2/W8 229 236 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This article is available from https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W8-229-2017.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W8-229-2017.pdf

This paper presents preliminary tests of a new low-cost photogrammetric system for 4D modelling of large scale areas for civil engineering applications. The system consists of five stand-alone units. Each of the units is composed of a Raspberry Pi 2 Model B (RPi2B) single board computer connected to a PiCamera Module V2 (8 MP) and is powered by a 10 W solar panel. The acquisition of the images is performed automatically using Python scripts and the OpenCV library. Images are recorded at different times during the day and automatically uploaded onto a FTP server from where they can be accessed for processing. Preliminary tests and outcomes of the system are discussed in detail. The focus is on the performance assessment of the low-cost sensor and the quality evaluation of the digital surface models generated by the low-cost photogrammetric systems in the field under real test conditions. Two different test cases were set up in order to calibrate the low-cost photogrammetric system and to assess its performance. First comparisons with a TLS model show a good agreement.