Group Mobile Terrestrial Scanning

The research focus of the group is the development of time-of-flight-based optical measurement systems for mobile use on road vehicles. The systems determine distances to objects with great speed and submillimeter precision. Combined with a scanning unit and cameras, they can also capture object geometries in three dimensions. We develop special camera-based methods for precise position and location detection of the measuring system, which enable the measurement data to be assigned to a fixed local or global coordinate system. These methods operate independently or in combination with conventional inertial sensors. We not only develop, but also install, commission and maintain the systems.

Installed on special measuring vehicles or standard vehicles, our robust measuring systems measure and inspect road surfaces, inspect tunnel structures and map urban environments with high precision. For a fully automated analysis and classification of 2D and 3D data, we are developing self-learning algorithms based, among others, on the concept of deep learning.

Systems for condition monitoring and mapping of road infrastructure

• Measuring transverse evenness of roads with an accuracy of 0.3 mm
• Mapping of 2 million measuring points per second
• Surveying road corridors of up to 100 m in width with an accuracy of 3 mm
• Detecting cracks in road surfaces at driving speeds of 80 km/h with a resolution of 1 mm
• Optimization of the mechanical and electronic structure of complex multi-sensor systems
• Adaptation of sensor systems for the detection of road environments
• Support for the approval of measuring vehicles by the BASt (Federal Highway Research Institute)

Signal processing and analysis

• Anonymization of image data in real time on the measuring vehicle
• Real-time data reduction for fast and efficient data transmission
• Data evaluation in real time
• Fusion of 3D and 2D data including positioning and texturing
• Derivation of metadata from textured 3D data