$k$-Segments-Based Geometric Modeling of VLS Scan Lines

A novel k-segments-based 2-D geometric modeling schematic is proposed for characterizing the scan lines of vehicle-based laser scanning (VLS) with just a few geometric primitives. VLS has been developing quickly as a new research focus recently, but the relevant data processing techniques lag behind the system establishment due to the associated huge standwise point clouds collected in a real 3-D sense. To solve this issue, the often-assumed sampling mode based on scan lines suggests an alternative frame for exploring new efficient methodologies in diverse applications. As we know, principal segments can reflect the morphological signatures of the scatter-point-represented objects, and besides, profiles comprised by various open and close outlines can be geometrically modeled by line segments and ellipses, respectively. By combining these two merits, the k-segments-based geometric modeling algorithm can be constructed, which segments and fits the center-clustered points, e.g., in crowns, into ellipses and the line-arranged points, e.g., on walls, into line segments. Eventually, the experiments based on real VLS data primarily validate this new algorithm.