Ikonos Geo Stereo Images: Geometric Potential and Suitability for 3D Building Reconstruction

An investigation of the application of 1m Ikonos satellite imagery to 3D building reconstruction is reported. The focus of the evaluation has been upon geopositioning accuracy, radiometric quality and attributes of the imagery that support building feature extraction. Following an initial review of characteristics of the Ikonos system, the multi-image dataset employed is described, along with the Melbourne Ikonos testfield. Radiometric and image preprocessing aspects are discussed and the results of 2D and 3D metric accuracy tests are presented. A quantitative and qualitative assessment of the use of stereo Ikonos imagery for generating building models is then provided, using the campus of the University of Melbourne as an evaluation site. The results of this assessment are summarised, these highlighting both the high sub-metre metric potential of Ikonos and difficulties to be anticipated in building reconstruction when the modelling should be complete and detailed.