Documentation of heritage buildings using close-range UAV images: dense matching issues, comparison and case studies

Three-dimensional (3D) documentation of heritage buildings has long employed both image-based and range-based techniques. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide a particular advantage for image-based techniques in acquiring aerial views, which are difficult to attain using classical terrestrial-based methods. The technological development of optical sensors and dense matching algorithms also complement existing photogrammetric workflows for the documentation of heritage objects. In this paper, fundamental concepts in photogrammetry and 3D reconstruction based on structure from motion (SfM) will be briefly reviewed. Two case studies were performed using two types of UAVs, one being a state-of-the-art platform dedicated to obtaining close-range images. Comparisons with laser scanning data were performed and several issues regarding the aerial triangulation and dense matching results were assessed. The results show that although the dense matching of these UAV images may generate centimetre-level precision, a further increase in precision is often hampered by the quality of the onboard sensor.