A hybrid measurement approach for close-range photogrammetry

Full automation in close-range photogrammetric measurement has long been a practical reality. However, constraints apply to the process such that automated 3D measurement is generally confined to targeted points in an environment of controlled illumination. The ready availability of consumer-grade digital cameras has made photogrammetric measurement accessible and more widely employed for a host of new applications, the majority of which call for 3D measurement of other than signalized object features. Process automation is therefore typically precluded. This paper discusses a hybrid measurement approach which involves fully automatic network orientation with targets, while at the same time supporting follow-up semi-automatic and manual operations such as feature point and line extraction and surface measurement via image matching. The topics discussed include camera calibration, the metric exploitation of colour attributes, issues related to image point correspondence determination, operator assisted feature measurement and surface extraction. All are important to the practical realisation of the hybrid measurement approach. (C) 2008 International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Inc. (ISPRS). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.