COMBINATION OF THERMAL INFRARED IMAGES AND LASERSCANNING DATA FOR 3D THERMAL POINT CLOUD GENERATION ON BUILDINGS AND TREES

Abstract

The thermal infrared study of urban environments is of growing interest. It allows to observe the variations of surface temperatures on objects over time and therefore the microclimate at the scale of a street. To facilitate the analysis of thermal interactions between urban elements, it is necessary to provide a 3D visualization of the thermography of a street. For this purpose, 3D thermal models combining geometric and thermal infrared (TIR) measurements are required. The chosen format for 3D thermal models is a point cloud with a temperature attribute. In our approach, two types of urban components are considered: buildings and trees. The geometric data of each component are acquired with a static laser scanner and the surface temperature is acquired with a thermal handheld camera. For the building, the approach consists in georeferencing TIR images and colorize the point cloud by projection. For trees, the approach consists of the colorization of each laser scan prior to the registration. The spherical panoramic images acquired with the Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) are used as references to automatically georeferenced the TIR and thus to save time. The 3D thermal models obtained highlight the impact of sunlight on buildings and trees. At building scale, this thermal representation also helps to emphasize thermal bridges, as well as the shadow generated by surrounding trees. At tree scale, this representation is useful for monitoring the temporal and spatial variability of trunk’s and leave’s temperatures. Obviously, the thermal models underline the impact of trees on the urban environment.