journal article·2025-05-01Open access

Assessment of Photogrammetric Performance Test on Large Areas by Using a Rolling Shutter Camera Equipped in a Multi-Rotor UAV

Alba Nely Arévalo-Verjel, José Luis Lerma, Juan Pedro Carbonell-Rivera, Juan F. Prieto, José Fernández

Applied Sciences· Volume 15· Issue 9

Abstract

The generation of digital aerial photogrammetry products using unmanned aerial vehicle-digital aerial photogrammetry (UAV-DAP) has become an essential task due to the increasing use of UAVs in the world of geomatics, thanks to their low cost and spatial resolution. Therefore, it is relevant to explore the performance of new digital cameras equipped in UAVs using electronic rolling shutters instead of ideal mechanical or global shutter cameras to achieve accurate and reliable photogrammetric products, if possible, while minimizing workload, especially for their application in projects that require a high level of detail. In this paper, we analyse performance using oblique images along the perimeter (3D perimeter) on a flat area, i.e., with slopes of less than 3%. The area was photogrammetrically surveyed with a DJI (Dà-Jiāng Innovations) Inspire 2 multirotor UAV equipped with a Zenmuse X5S rolling shutter camera. The photogrammetric survey was accompanied by a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) survey, in which dual frequency receivers were used to determine the ground control points (GCPs) and checkpoints (CPs). The study analysed different scenarios, including the combination of forward and transversal strips and oblique images. After examining the ideal scenario with the least root mean square error (RMSE), six different combinations were analysed to find the best location for the GCPs. The most significant results indicate that the optimal calibration of the camera is obtained in scenarios including oblique images, which outperform the rest of the scenarios for achieving the lowest RMSE (2.5x the GSD in Z and 3.0x the GSD in XYZ) with optimum GCPs layout; with non-ideal GCPs layout, unacceptable errors can be achieved (11.4x the GSD in XYZ), even with ideal block geometry. The UAV-DAP rolling shutter effect can only be minimised in the scenario that uses oblique images and GCPs at the edges of the overlapping zones and the perimeter.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: 3D Surveying and Cultural Heritage · Remote Sensing and LiDAR Applications · Optical measurement and interference techniques

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Grupo de Investigación en Fotogrametría y Láser Escáner (GIFLE), Departamento de Ingeniería Cartográfica, Geodesia y Fotogrametría, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain

Integrated Remote Sensing Studio, Department of Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada

Grupo de Investigación en Geovisualización, Espacios Singulares y Patrimonio (GESyP), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ctra. Valencia km 7, 28031 Madrid, Spain

Institute of Geosciences (IGEO), CSIC-UCM, Calle del Doctor Severo Ochoa, 7, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Funding

Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación

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