Semi-Automatic Road/Pavement Modeling using Mobile Laser Scanning

Abstract. Scene analysis, in urban environments, deals with street modeling and understanding. A street mainly consists of roadways, pavements (i.e., walking areas), facades, still and moving obstacles. In this paper, we investigate the surface modeling of roadways and pavements using LIDAR data acquired by a mobile laser scanning (MLS) system. First, road border detection is considered. A system recognizing curbs and curb ramps while reconstructing the missing information in case of occlusion is presented. A user interface scheme is also described, providing an effective tool for semi-automatic processing of large amount of data. Then, based upon road edge information, a process that reconstructs surfaces of roads and pavements has been developed, providing a centimetric precision while reconstructing missing information. This system hence provides an important knowledge of the street, that may open perspectives in various domains such as path planning or road maintenance.