Extraction and Modeling of Power Lines from ALS Abstract: Point Clouds

Due to its ability to provide dense, fast and accurate range measurements, airborne laser scanning (ALS) is becoming increasingly popular for extensive, large area surveying tasks; however, there is still a lack of (published) methods for 3D segmentation and object modeling that exploit the full potential of this new technology. In this paper, we investigate strategies for extracting and reconstructing power lines in 3D from ALS point clouds and give preliminary results for a 1000m X 140m test scan; exact 3D-reconstructions of power lines are important for energy providers in order to assert that the physical parameters of the cable are still within a safe margin and to quickly detect anomalies or defects.