DENSE MULTIPLE STEREO MATCHING OF HIGHLY OVERLAPPING UAV IMAGERY

Abstract. UAVs are becoming standard platforms for applications aiming at photogrammetric data capture. Since these systems can be completely built-up at very reasonable prices, their use can be very cost effective. This is especially true while aiming at large scale aerial mapping of areas at limited extent. In principle, the photogrammetric evaluation of UAV-based imagery is feasible by of-the-shelf commercial software products. Thus, standard steps like aerial triangulation, the generation of Digital Surface Models and ortho image computation can be performed effectively. However, this processing pipeline can be hindered due to the limited quality of UAV data. This is especially true if low-cost sensor components are applied. To overcome potential problems in AAT, UAV imagery is frequently captured at considerable overlaps. As it will be discussed in the paper, such highly overlapping image blocks are not only beneficial during georeferencing, but are especially advantageous while aiming at a dense and accurate image based 3D surface reconstruction.