Ch 51. Digital Photogrammetry

Overview

“Photogrammetry and remote sensing are the art, science, and technology of obtaining reliable information from non‐contact imaging and other sensor systems about the Earth and its environment, and other physical objects and processes through recording, measuring, analyzing and representation” [ISPRS Statutes]. Photogrammetric engineering has a long history; the International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) was founded in 1910, and the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) was founded in 1934.

This chapter focuses on the fundamentals of photogrammetry to derive accurate 3D information based on post‐processing algorithms. While the mathematical background of several models is the same as in computer vision, here, the conventional photogrammetric description is followed. For example, the collinearity equations describe the same constraints and assume the same pinhole camera model as the projection matrix that is defined in the beginning of any computer vision textbook. Historically, the collinearity equations are the basis for introducing the exterior orientation and stereo vision in photogrammetry. These connections will be noted at the relevant places, yet the chapter adheres to the classical photogrammetric style in introducing the topics, notations, examples, and problems to allow the reader to become familiar with the photogrammetric terminology. In addition, the chapter emphasizes important phenomena, such as very precise 3D product characterization, that are either not addressed or coarsely presented in computer vision.