The camera applied to 3D scan data for true photogrammetric registration of 6 megapixel photo information with 3D point cloud data.

Riegl USA introduced a high-resolution digital camera applied to 3D scan data for true photogrammetric registration of 6 megapixel photo information with 3D point cloud data. The integrated digital camera meshes high resolution photo pixel information with scan data coordinate information. The camera takes photogrammetric information at each scanning position and transforms pixel (camera) coordinates into beam (scanner) coordinates. While in the field, the scanner operator can merge scan data from various scanning positions, registering the scans in a project coordinate system to verify key data is captured before leaving the jobsite. The camera can be mounted on any Riegl 3D scanner and calibrated using Riegl 3D RiSCAN PRO software. Two types of photo images are needed to fully document a scanning project. The first are images taken when the camera is mounted and calibrated on the scanner. As soon as scan position data is registered in the scan project coordinate system, the digital camera photos are fully meshed with the scan data. A second set of images can be taken with the camera not mounted on the scanner and can be used to fully document a jobsite or where the digital camera cannot be mounted. These images are then transferred or meshed to the scan data coordinate system by manually identifying tie points in the image and corresponding 3D data from the scan data. Tie points are most often retro-reflective targets clearly shown in scan data that can also be accurately measured with total stations. (Riegl USA, Orlando, Fla.)