Rockfall Source Detection and Volume Measurement From Autonomous UAV-Acquired Photogrammetry: A Case Study From a Transportation Corridor in Northwestern Ontario, Canada
Land-based and traditional aerial photogrammetry techniques have been applied widely and successfully to develop precise three-dimensional (3D) terrain models for many applications, including geological or structural analyses of simple rock cuts. However, whereas the geometry and scale of many hazardous rock slopes adjacent to highways or railways are not really conducive to either terrestrial or downward-looking aerial cameras and laser scanners, the newest generation of autonomous, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) equipped with high-resolution sidelooking digital cameras present a solution to this vantage-point issue. In this study the authors generated detailed 3D photogrammetric models of a slope along a railway adjacent to Lake Superior near Marathon, Ontario, Canada, and compared them quantitatively for changes. This slope has a similar configuration to local highway slopes. The models were created using hundreds of digital photographs collected by an autonomous UAV in August 2012 and October 2013, between which a number of rockfall events had occurred and affected railway operations. The authors calibrated the change-detection routine using a large rockfall event that occurred at another site in western Canada, for which they also had detailed LiDAR as ground-truth. At the Lake Superior site the authors were able to identify both the source location and volume (approximately 9m³) of a single rockfall event, using only the UAV-acquired photogrammetric data. In the paper the authors discuss the data collection and model development, the change-detection and volume calculation methodology for the single 9m³ rockfall, and they explore the best practices and major limitations in the analysis and applications of these methods to highway problems.
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Supplemental Notes:
- Copyright © 2014 Highway Geology Symposium (HGS). Abstract reprinted with permission of the HGS.
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Corporate Authors:
Highway Geology Symposium
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Authors:
- Gautier, Dave
- Hutchinson, D Jean
- Wood, David F
- Morris, A J
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Conference:
- 65th Highway Geology Symposium
- Location: Laramie Wyoming, United States
- Date: 2014-7-7 to 2014-7-10
- Publication Date: 2014
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: Figures; Photos; References;
- Pagination: pp 522-537
- Monograph Title: Proceedings of the 65th Highway Geology Symposium (HGS 2014)
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Aerial photogrammetry; Best practices; Data collection; Detection and identification; Drones; Measurement; Monitoring; Railroads; Rock slopes; Rockfalls
- Geographic Terms: Ontario (Province)
- Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Geotechnology; Highways; Railroads;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01642828
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Jul 31 2017 4:36PM