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Real-Time Update of Digital Terrain Model From Lidar Data Cover

Real-Time Update of Digital Terrain Model From Lidar Data

Architecture, Civil Engineering, Environment
Volume 18 (2025): Issue 3 (September 2025)
By: Daniel JANOS,  Łukasz ORTYL and  Przemysław KURAS  
Open Access
|Sep 2025

Figures & Tables

Figure 1.

Visualization of an illustrative CAT D6R dozer with a Velodyne VLP-16 LiDAR sensor and a measurement beam with the Hz angle of ±35°, V angle of ±15°, and measurement range of up to 6 m
Visualization of an illustrative CAT D6R dozer with a Velodyne VLP-16 LiDAR sensor and a measurement beam with the Hz angle of ±35°, V angle of ±15°, and measurement range of up to 6 m

Figure 2.

Velodyne VLP-16 LiDAR parameters: a) measurement beams (channels) in the vertical plane [42], b) dimensions of the measurement area [m]
Velodyne VLP-16 LiDAR parameters: a) measurement beams (channels) in the vertical plane [42], b) dimensions of the measurement area [m]

Figure 3.

Prototype of the measurement system
Prototype of the measurement system

Fig. 4.

Visualization of the prototype with the LiDAR sensor measurement angle used in the tests: Hz ±90°, V ±15°, and measurement range up to 6 m: a) top view, b) spatial view, c) side view
Visualization of the prototype with the LiDAR sensor measurement angle used in the tests: Hz ±90°, V ±15°, and measurement range up to 6 m: a) top view, b) spatial view, c) side view

Figure 5.

Block diagram of the program based on the developed algorithm
Block diagram of the program based on the developed algorithm

Figure 6.

Visualization of the data matrix – a grid with a single pixel size of px. Each pixel, starting in the lower left corner, can only contain one point with data [X,Y,Z, Intensity, Hdiff]. The colors blue, green and yellow indicate the corresponding grid nodes (pixels) and measured points
Visualization of the data matrix – a grid with a single pixel size of px. Each pixel, starting in the lower left corner, can only contain one point with data [X,Y,Z, Intensity, Hdiff]. The colors blue, green and yellow indicate the corresponding grid nodes (pixels) and measured points

Figure 7.

Point cloud (a), b)) and mesh model (c), d), e), f)) from the conducted test measurement: before (a), c), e)) and after (b), d) f)) the pile was modified with an excavator. The colours for graphics a), b), c) and d) are the LiDAR laser beam intensity, while for graphics e) and f) it is the height map. The area of changes has been marked with a red rectangle
Point cloud (a), b)) and mesh model (c), d), e), f)) from the conducted test measurement: before (a), c), e)) and after (b), d) f)) the pile was modified with an excavator. The colours for graphics a), b), c) and d) are the LiDAR laser beam intensity, while for graphics e) and f) it is the height map. The area of changes has been marked with a red rectangle

Figure 8.

Screenshots from the program’s field application. The image a) shows a view of the cloud with LiDAR beam reflectance intensity colors, before the pile was modified. The image b) shows a view of the cloud where the colors of the points are determined by their height, after the pile was modified and the changes captured, just before the program stopped running
Screenshots from the program’s field application. The image a) shows a view of the cloud with LiDAR beam reflectance intensity colors, before the pile was modified. The image b) shows a view of the cloud where the colors of the points are determined by their height, after the pile was modified and the changes captured, just before the program stopped running

Figure 9.

Photos before (a) and after (b) the pile modification. Video from field tests is included in Appendix B
Photos before (a) and after (b) the pile modification. Video from field tests is included in Appendix B

Figure 10.

Distances [cm] on the ground between points from all the 16 LiDAR channels, with the sensor mounted as specified: 3 m above the ground, at an angle of 45°, maximum distance 6 m
Distances [cm] on the ground between points from all the 16 LiDAR channels, with the sensor mounted as specified: 3 m above the ground, at an angle of 45°, maximum distance 6 m

Dependence of the moving speed (assuming the rotational speed of the LiDAR sensor is 900 RPM) on terrain coverage with measurements

Dependence of the azimuthal resolution at a distance of 6 m on the rotational LiDAR speed

Maximum project dimensions depending on the selected resolution of DTM grid

Grid resolution (pixel size) [m]Max project area [m2]Example dimensions [m]
0.0190,000300 × 300
0.02360,000600 × 600
0.041,440,0001200 × 1200
0.052,250,0001500 × 1500
0.109,000,0003000 × 3000
0.2036,000,0006000 × 3000
0.2556,250,0007500 × 3000
0.50225,000,00015000 × 3000
1900,000,00030000 × 3000

Relationship between the grid DTM volume calculation time and the data matrix size

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/acee-2025-0041 | Journal eISSN: 2720-6947 | Journal ISSN: 1899-0142
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Language: English
Page range: 205 - 223
Submitted on: Mar 21, 2025
Accepted on: Sep 1, 2025
Published on: Sep 30, 2025
Published by: Silesian University of Technology
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year
Keywords:
2.5D point cloud,
Digital terrain model,
GNSS,
IMU,
Lidar,
Python programming language
Related subjects:
Architecture and design,
Architecture,
Architects, buildings

© 2025 Daniel JANOS, Łukasz ORTYL, Przemysław KURAS, published by Silesian University of Technology
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

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