Abstract
Structure-from-motion (SfM) is currently used for geological-geomorphological purposes under the condition that the modeling is based either on several ground control points (GCPs) well distributed in the scene or on direct georeferencing (DG). In emergency conditions and in presence of active morphodynamic processes, it could be unfeasible to use GCPs or DG. A study aimed at evaluating the quality of the results achievable by means of completely free SfM modeling of images taken from a distance of some hundred meters is shown in this paper. It is based on an experiment with an artificial target and some surveys of a bedrock scarp, where resolution and precision are evaluated as empirical functions of distance and focal length, taking into account the issues related to the scale factor. The problems related to the recognition of localized surface changes by means of multitemporal surveys are also studied. The primary result is that the free approach can really be used in geomorphological and seismotectonical surveying carried out in emergency conditions.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by Project MIUR-FIRB “Abruzzo,” code RBAP10ZC8K_003 and Project “Fondo Integrato Speciale per la Ricerca—FISR 2016,” Task 2. The authors wish to tank Massimo Bacchetti (University of Bologna, Department of Physics) for the help in target realization.
The authors wish to dedicate this article to the memory of Enzo Boschi (1942–2018).
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Published In
Journal of Surveying Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 4 • November 2020
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©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 7, 2019
Accepted: Apr 24, 2020
Published online: Jun 26, 2020
Published in print: Nov 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Nov 26, 2020
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