Sensor-based weed mapping in arable fields is a key element for site-specific herbicide management strategies. In this study, we investigated the generation of application maps based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle imagery and present a site-specific herbicide application using those maps. Field trials for site-specific herbicide applications and multi-temporal image flights were carried out in maize (Zea mays L.) and sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) in southern Germany. Real-time kinematic Global Positioning System precision planting information provided the input for determining plant rows in the geocoded aerial images. Vegetation indices combined with generated plant height data were used to detect the patches containing creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop.) and curled dock (Rumex crispus L.). The computed weed maps showed the presence or absence of the aforementioned weeds on the fields, clustered to 9 m × 9 m grid cells. The precision of the correct classification varied from 96% in maize to 80% in the last sugar beet treatment. The computational underestimation of manual mapped C. arvense and R. cripus patches varied from 1% to 10% respectively. Overall, the developed algorithm performed well, identifying tall perennial weeds for the computation of large-scale herbicide application maps.

Road networks are very important features in geospatial databases. Even though high-resolution optical satellite images have already been acquired for more than a decade, tools for automated extraction of road networks from these images are still rare. One consequence of this is the need for manual interaction which, in turn, is time and cost intensive. In this paper, a multi-stage approach is proposed which integrates structural, spectral, textural, as well as contextual information of objects to extract road networks from very high resolution satellite images. Highlights of the approach are a novel linearity index employed for the discrimination of elongated road segments from other objects and customized tensor voting which is utilized to fill missing parts of the network. Experiments are carried out with different datasets. Comparison of the achieved results with the results of seven state-of-the-art methods demonstrated the efficiency of the proposed approach.

High-density point clouds are valuable and detailed sources of data for different processes related to photogrammetry. We explore the knowledge-based generation of accurate large-scale three-dimensional (3D) models of buildings employing point clouds derived from UAV-based photogrammetry. A new two-level segmentation approach based on efficient RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC) shape detection is developed to segment potential facades and roofs of the buildings and extract their footprints. In the first level, the cylinder primitive is implemented to trim point clouds and split buildings, and the second level of the segmentation produces planar segments. The efficient RANSAC algorithm is enhanced in sizing up the segments via point-based analyses for both levels of segmentation. Then, planar modelling is carried out employing contextual knowledge through a new constrained least squares method. New evaluation criteria are proposed based on conceptual knowledge. They can examine the abilities of the approach in reconstruction of footprints, 3D models, and planar segments in addition to detection of over/under segmentation. Evaluation of the 3D models proves that the geometrical accuracy of LoD3 is achieved, since the average horizontal and vertical accuracy of the reconstructed vertices of roofs and footprints are better than (0.24, 0.23) m, (0.19, 0.17) m for the first dataset, and (0.35, 0.37) m, (0.28, 0.24) m for the second dataset.

This letter presents an object-based stereo matching and content-based guided disparity map refinement for high-resolution satellite stereo images. The proposed method uses the superpixels for object-based cost filtering and then object-based semiglobal matching. In the proposed object-based stereo matching strategy, two improvements including homogeneity weight for cost filtering, and weighted cost aggregation by image objects are considered. After cost aggregation, the generated disparity map is computed using the winner takes all and then refined with a new iterative guided edge-preserving filter. The proposed method with Census cost function has been implemented on high-resolution satellite stereo images and then is compared with the LiDAR ground truth. Moreover, the proposed method is compared with five state-of-the-art stereo matching methods. The experimental results on along-track satellite stereo images from Pleiades and IKONOS images and cross-track multidate images from WV-III demonstrate that the proposed method significantly improves the result of stereo matching.

Three dimensional models of urban areas play an important role in city planning, disaster management, city navigation and other applications. Reconstruction of 3D building models is still a challenging issue in 3D city modelling. Point clouds generated from multi view images of UAV is a novel source of spatial data, which is used in this research for building reconstruction. The process starts with the segmentation of point clouds of roofs and walls into planar groups. By generating related surfaces and using geometrical constraints plus considering symmetry, a 3d model of building is reconstructed. In a refinement step, dormers are extracted, and their models are reconstructed. The details of the 3d reconstructed model are in LoD3 level, with respect to modelling eaves, fractions of roof and dormers.