Rick Adhikary, Komal Parikh
Drone mapping and terrestrial laser scanning are two advanced techniques that have been used around the world in recent years for documentation and mapping of buildings with historic value, construction project/infrastructure monitoring, mapping of cities, and a lot more survey. A well-defined methodology for data extraction, modelling, and monitoring is yet to evolve. This study compares and demonstrates terrestrial laser scanning and drone survey for building mapping with validation and accuracy checks. A terrestrial scanner was used to perform three scans of a building and drone was used to capture high-performance vertical images and oblique images. A three dimensional (3D) model was generated using advanced software techniques. Building façade elevation and plans were extracted from the 3D model after validation and accuracy check. The drone model produced high-quality visualization while terrestrial scanner output data allowed to extracting minute details after removing noise. Drone mapping and terrestrial laser scanning are two unique stand-alone technologies for serving different purposes individually, but they greatly complement each other when used together. Visualization of digital real-time 3D model helps in scrolling around at different nooks and corners of the building for a survey which is not possible through conventional mapping techniques; this is one of the greatest advantages of these techniques.