A Comprehensive Toolkit for Semi-Automated HD Maps Production: Integrating AI-Driven Feature Extraction with 3D Interactive Validation and Editing
Keywords: High-definition Maps, Mobile Laser Scanning, Semi-automatic Algorithm, AI-driven Feature Extraction, Human-in-the-loop Toolchain
Abstract. This paper presents a comprehensive toolkit for semi-automated High-Definition Maps (HD Maps) production that integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven feature extraction with 3D human-in-the-loop validation. High-definition maps provide centimeter-level road geometry and traffic asset information, but large-scale production remains costly due to dense mobile mapping data and manual digitization. The proposed workflow consists of two self-developed components: a Semi-automated HD Maps Production Tool for batch extraction and a 3D HD Maps Validation and Editing Tool for structured review. The project-based pipeline ingests georeferenced mobile laser scanning point clouds, Inertial Navigation System / Global Navigation Satellite System (INS/GNSS) trajectories, and camera imagery, and applies configurable chains of ground filtering, road-marking extraction, voxel down-sampling, clustering, oriented bounding box analysis, and AI-based traffic asset detection. Candidate features with confidence indicators and basic attributes are stored in a project database and edited in a tightly coupled 3D environment that supports snapping, constrained adjustments, and semantic reclassification while logging all user edits. The toolkit is evaluated on a closed proving ground (CARLab, Shalun) and a freeway section of Taiwan National Highway No. 3. At CARLab, semi-automated extraction achieves F1-scores of 0.85–0.95 for key layers. For a one-kilometer highway section, operator time is reduced from 90–120 minutes in a purely manual Geographic Information System (GIS) workflow to about 45 minutes with the proposed approach, while maintaining comparable geometric accuracy. These results demonstrate a practical path towards scalable, traceable HD Maps production for autonomous driving applications.
