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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">ISPRS-Archives</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">ISPRS-Archives</abbrev-journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="nlm-ta">Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci.</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="epub">2194-9034</issn>
<publisher><publisher-name>Copernicus Publications</publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Göttingen, Germany</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIX-B1-2026-239-2026</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title>Comprehensive Evaluation of Small-Format Multi-Head Camera Systems for 3D Topographic Mapping</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Bannakulpiphat</surname>
<given-names>Thirawat</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Karel</surname>
<given-names>Wilfried</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Loghin</surname>
<given-names>Ana-Maria</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4">
<sup>4</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Oniga</surname>
<given-names>Valeria-Ersilia</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Pfeifer</surname>
<given-names>Norbert</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group><aff id="aff1">
<label>1</label>
<addr-line>Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, Technische Universität Wien, Vienna, Austria</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff2">
<label>2</label>
<addr-line>Mapping and Positioning from Space (MAPS) Technology Research Center, Department of Survey Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff3">
<label>3</label>
<addr-line>Department of Terrestrial Measurements and Cadastre, Technical University ”Gheorghe Asachi” of Iasi, Iasi, Romania</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff4">
<label>4</label>
<addr-line>Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying (BEV), Vienna, Austria</addr-line>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>22</day>
<month>07</month>
<year>2026</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>XLIX-B1-2026</volume>
<fpage>239</fpage>
<lpage>246</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x000a9; 2026 Thirawat Bannakulpiphat et al.</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2026</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit <ext-link ext-link-type="uri"  xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link></license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLIX-B1-2026/239/2026/isprs-archives-XLIX-B1-2026-239-2026.html">This article is available from https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLIX-B1-2026/239/2026/isprs-archives-XLIX-B1-2026-239-2026.html</self-uri>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLIX-B1-2026/239/2026/isprs-archives-XLIX-B1-2026-239-2026.pdf">The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLIX-B1-2026/239/2026/isprs-archives-XLIX-B1-2026-239-2026.pdf</self-uri>
<abstract>
<p>Small-format multi-head camera systems are increasingly deployed for UAV-based 3D mapping; however, systematic evaluations that explicitly link acquisition geometry to network robustness and fa&amp;ccedil;ade reconstruction completeness remain scarce. This study establishes a geometry-driven, multi-dataset evaluation framework to assess such systems in topographic mapping. Six UAV datasets with varying flying altitudes, overlaps, platforms, cameras, and urbanization are analyzed using a rigorous bundle block adjustment workflow. Internal network strength is quantified using image connectivity, image ray intersection angles, and tie point multiplicity, while object-space accuracy is assessed using ground control point residuals. Reconstruction completeness is evaluated using fa&amp;ccedil;ade-specific point density metrics, enabling a controlled comparison between nadir-only and multi-head (nadir + oblique) configurations. The results show that oblique imagery strengthens multi-directional image network geometry and substantially improves fa&amp;ccedil;ade reconstruction. This study establishes empirical relationships between acquisition design, network stability, and object-space completeness.</p>
</abstract>
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