Point Clouds Forest

Point Clouds in Forestry

Course Description 

Application of photogrammetry and lidar technology in forestry. Review of geometry, trigonometry, and GIS concepts. Generation and classification of point clouds from passive and active sensors. Development of surface models. Integration of point clouds in GIS.

 

PREREQS: FE 257, GEOG 201, or equivalent, and MTH 241 or equivalent.

Learning Resources

All required learning resources are posted online on Canvas.

There is no textbook required for this class, as it combines complex topics that were not formally address together in one undergraduate textbook. 

Measurable Student Learning Outcomes

Students completing this course will acquire knowledge on how photogrammetry and lidar operate, as well as how forest relevant information is extracted from point clouds. The course has three objectives:

  1. Proficiency in using GIS software, such as ArcGIS or QGIS
  2. Development of point clouds from images and laser scans
  3. Extraction of forestry relevant information from point clouds.

Course success is measured as 70 % or higher average for labs, midterm, and final exam.

Measurable learning outcomes:

Students completing this course will be able to:

  • Create photogrammetric point clouds and orthorectified images from aerial photos
  • Execute terrestrial laser scans with handheld devices
  • Execute spatial analyses using vector data in a GIS environment
  • Extract forest relevant information from point clouds, particularly ground identification

Course Content

Week

Topic

Lab

1.     

Introduction

Review GIS

Spatial data and basic special analyses

Quiz #1

2.     

Lidar technology and products

Field lab: terrestrial laser scanning

3.     

Review Geometry

Geometry definition, postulates, and theorems

4.     

Review Trigonometry

 

Basic trigonometric formula and their application in geometry

5.     

Photogrammetry

  • Summary of geometry and trigonometry applications in forest remote sensing
  • Coordinate systems

6.     

Orthorectification

 

Photogrammetric tree measurements

Quiz #2

7.     

Photogrammetric point clouds and orthophotos

Generation of photogrammetric point clouds

Quiz #3

8.     

Point cloud classification

Classify point clouds and create surface models

9.     

DEM creation: DTM and DSM

Creation of DTM, DSM, and CHM

Quiz#4

10.  

Impact of algorithms on classification

Operations with DTM and DSM