Construction Object Identification from LADAR Scans: An Experimental Study Using I-Beams

Published

December 15, 2005

Author(s)

David E. Gilsinn, Geraldine S. Cheok, Christoph J. Witzgall, Alan M. Lytle

Abstract

Laser Scanning devices (LADAR for Laser Detection and Ranging) are used in construction projects to capture as-built data. They can rapidly generate large unstructured point clouds. This study describes an experiment in which an I-beam on a concrete floor surface is scanned, and the resulting point cloud data used to calculate its pose. Two approaches for segmenting potential target objects are described. Principal axis analysis is used to determine the pose of the I-beam. Bounding boxes are then formed around it and compared to an ideal bounding box generated from the known geometric specifications of the I-beam of interest. A separate laser-based site measurement system (SMS) was used to measure points on the I-beams to form reference data for estimating the closeness of fit of computed pose of the I-beam to measured pose of the I-beam. Three spheres were used as a means of registering the scan and SMS axes.

Citation

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 7286

Report Number

7286

NIST Pub Series

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

binning, bounding boxes, irregular networks, LADAR, object identification, pose, principal axes, triangulated network

Citation

Gilsinn, D. , Cheok, G. , Witzgall, C. and Lytle, A. (2005), Construction Object Identification from LADAR Scans: An Experimental Study Using I-Beams, NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=50817 (Accessed October 7, 2025)