The generation of Digital Surface Models (DSMs) from optical stereo data has a long heritage at IMF. Starting from the first space mission using a digital stereo camera (MOMS) in the early 90s, continuous improvements in stereo image matching have been the focus of our research. The stereo methods developed by our team already allow the creation of city models from space with the currently highest resolution data, as WorldView-1/2/3/4, IKONOS, GeoEye-1, Pléiades, Cartosat and ZY3. Our strategy is not only to generate the best possible DSMs using the latest computer vision methods, but also to develop new methodologies for high-level semantic modeling. Of particular interest is the mathematical algorithms development for building footprint extraction, 3D change detection, Classification, and full 3D reconstruction of buildings and trees. The results enable novel observations of urban growth, the progress of large and safety-critical construction infrastructure or the mapping of damage after natural disasters.
Currently the 3D and Modeling Team focuses on the following topics:
The developed algorithms are integrated in the following tools