The registration of 3-D point clouds is an important procedure during the terrestrial laser scanning data processing. Recently, due to their high flexibility and the powerful mathematical model, a large amount of least-squares-based (LSs-based) methods are proposed and widely applied to estimate the transformation parameters of 3-D point clouds registration. In these LSs-based methods some based on the generalized Gauss-Markov model do not correct the influence of random errors on source 3-D point clouds. Although there are other methods based on the errors-in-variables (EIV) model, they are inapplicable for transformation problems with large rotation angles and arbitrary scale ratio. In addition, the gross errors are usually ignored in previous studies on 3-D point clouds registration, which, however, exists commonly and could distort the registration severely. Aiming to avoid the influence of gross errors and extend its application, an advanced outlier detected total least-squares (OD-TLS) method is proposed in this paper. Based on the generalized EIV model OD-TLS performs a seven-parameter 3-D similarity transformation with large rotation angles and arbitrary scale ratio. The random errors of both source and target 3-D point clouds are considered. Furthermore, outliers are detected and removed automatically by combining the data snooping method with total least-squares (TLS) estimation. In order to indicate the benefits of OD-TLS, comparative experiments with the LS3D and weighted total least squares (WTLS) on synthetic and real-world scanned 3-D point clouds were performed. The experimental results show OD-TLS not only enhances the registration accuracy but also increases its robustness.

Three-dimensional (3D) similarity transformation is popularly applied for measurement datum transformation. In this study, a seamless partial errors-in-variables (EIV) model with equality constraints is established to describe the universal 3D similarity transformation problem (with arbitrary rotation angles and scale factor). Unlike the traditional transformation model, all of the random errors in the measured coordinates for common and non-common points, and their variance–covariance information can be considered. To obtain the least squares solution of this model, the constrained total least squares prediction (CTLSP) algorithm is derived using Gauss–Newton iteration and the Euler–Lagrange approach. Unnecessary matrix calculations in the application of the CTLSP algorithm for 3D datum transformation are avoided and the efficient iterative formulae are derived. Compared with the existing generalized total least squares prediction (GTLSP) algorithm, in which the transformation model is nonlinear with respect to the parameters, the CTLSP algorithm avoids the complex calculations related to the rotation matrix expressed by the trigonometric functions, and allows us to use the simple linear least squares to obtain a satisfactory initial value of the parameter vector. In addition, the linearly approximate cofactor propagation law is employed to assess the precision of the transformed coordinates of non-common points based on the CTLSP algorithm. Finally, the superiorities of CTLSP in transformation accuracy and computational efficiency are verified using an experiment. It should be noted that the new algorithm along with the precision evaluation formulae can easily be extended to the 2D/3D affine and rigid transformation cases as well, such as the map rectification, the point clouds registration, and the image matching.

Spatial and temporal variations in the vertical stratification of the troposphere introduce significant propagation delays in interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) observations. Observations of small amplitude surface deformations and regional subsidence rates are plagued by tropospheric delays, and strongly correlated with topographic height variations. Phase-based tropospheric correction techniques assuming a linear relationship between interferometric phase and topography have been exploited and developed, with mixed success. Producing robust estimates of tropospheric phase delay however plays a critical role in increasing the accuracy of InSAR measurements. Meanwhile, few phase-based correction methods account for the spatially variable tropospheric delay over lager study regions. Here, we present a robust and multi-weighted approach to estimate the correlation between phase and topography that is relatively insensitive to confounding processes such as regional subsidence over larger regions as well as under varying tropospheric conditions. An expanded form of robust least squares is introduced to estimate the spatially variable correlation between phase and topography by splitting the interferograms into multiple blocks. Within each block, correlation is robustly estimated from the band-filtered phase and topography. Phase-elevation ratios are multiply- weighted and extrapolated to each persistent scatter (PS) pixel. We applied the proposed method to Envisat ASAR images over the Southern California area, USA, and found that our method mitigated the atmospheric noise better than the conventional phase-based method. The corrected ground surface deformation agreed better with those measured from GPS.