A camcorder-based rapid mapping system
Master Thesis
1997
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University of Cape Town
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Abstract
This thesis reports on investigations into the potential of off-the-shelf camcorder imagery for rapid mapping. Video technology was chosen as it has the advantage of continuous image capture, enabling quick acquisition times in environments where access may be limited. Video imagery is also very low cost compared to metric photography, and has the advantage of on-line control of the photography, which, for applications with low to medium mapping accuracies, make it an attractive and cheap alternative, well suited for application in developing countries and dynamic environments. Two case studies are presented. In the first, Hi-8 camcorder imagery was acquired for informal settlement mapping under the UrbanModeler project being run by the Department of Geomatics at the University of Cape Town. The informal settlement of Marconi Beam in Milnerton, Cape Town serves as an application for the UrbanModeler project, whose objective is the development of image exploitation tools for automating the geo-spatial modeling of urban settlements, primarily informal (or "squatter") settlements. Rapid production of georeferenced mosaics from the video imagery is reported on, and these mosaics were used in conjunction with a GIS database of Marconi Beam. This GIS database, containing an inventory of shacks and occupants of the settlement, would ultimately help in relocating the occupants of Marconi Beam to Joe Slovo Park, a low cost formal housing settlement nearby. An analysis of the mapping potential of this data source is made with respect to image interpretability, and three-dimensional point positioning accuracy. The second case study lies in the terrestrial photogrammetry domain, in a joint project between the Department of Geomatics and the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cape Town. In June 1996, the fieldwork for the photogrammetric mapping of a newly discovered shipwreck was carried out. A Sony Hi-8 camcorder was used for video image capture, and control for the imagery was obtained by a combination of GPS and theodolite survey. Retroreflective targets were placed along the surface of the wreck to tie the imagery together. This thesis reports on the mapping of one of the sections of the shipwreck, and discusses the use of video imagery for the production of surface maps.
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Bibliography: leaves 93-100.
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Reference:
Motala, S. 1997. A camcorder-based rapid mapping system. University of Cape Town.