Utilizing a discrete global grid system for handling point clouds with varying locations, times, and levels of detail

Sirdeshmukh, Neeraj; Verbree, E.; van Oosterom, P.J.M.; Psomadaki, Stella; Kodde, Martin

Utilizing a discrete global grid system for handling point clouds with varying locations, times, and levels of detail

Journal article (2019)

Authors

Neeraj Sirdeshmukh Student

E. Verbree OLD Department of GIS Technology

P.J.M. van Oosterom OLD Department of GIS Technology

Stella Psomadaki Fugro

Martin Kodde Ingenieursbureau Geodelta

Research Group

OLD Department of GIS Technology

LIDAR Point cloud Integration Database Visualization Indexing Projection DGGS

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Published Date

2019

Language

English

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Research Group

OLD Department of GIS Technology

Abstract

Discrete global grid systems (DGGSs) have emerged in recent years as a new specification for working with global heterogeneous data sets in a Digital Earth framework. Point clouds originating from different sources usually have varying initial characteristics. This research aims to analyze to what extent a DGGS can be used to handle point clouds having varying coordinate systems, acquired at different levels of detail (densities), and at different times in the creation of a global map of point clouds. DGGSs, which are currently limited to a 2D (surface) space, are extended into 3D and 4D spaces to fully harness the multidimensional nature of point clouds. A continuous spatial indexing strategy, based on a space-filling curve, is then developed on an ellipsoidal model of the Earth and used to efficiently cluster and retrieve DGGS-based point clouds stored in a database. Finally, the queried points are visualized in a Web browser. The hierarchical, multi-resolution nature of a DGGS is exploited to achieve a variable-scale smooth-zoom visualization. The challenges and opportunities of point cloud integration in a DGGS are presented.