Orthorectification of Bridges from High Resolution Satellite Images

Abstract

High-resolution satellite imagery requires high-resolution height reference data to create orthorectified images. High-precision digital surface data and LiDAR data are expensive to acquire quickly and accurately. Facility databases, on the other hand, are very efficient because once established, the information can be utilized persistently. The temporal resolution between the structure in the database and the captured image affects the ortho resolution created. Landmarks such as bridges are rarely subject to changes after construction. This makes facility database a suitable material to generate orthophotos of bridge structures. In this paper, we used a bridge database to perform orthorectification for structures with height variations. We removed relief displacement from satellite imagery at different angles and verified orthorectification feasibility for bridges of different heights and lengths. The orthoimage was overlaid with a topographic map to verify the orthorectification visually. As a result, we confirmed that the facility database was able to generate orthophotos of the bridges. The length and slope of bridge structures indicated the need for precise database updates in the future research.