Error propagation modeling for terrain analysis can provide insights into the robustness of terrain derivatives. For unconstrained terrain derivatives, such as stream and watershed delineation, the most widely used technique for error propagation modeling employs a Monte Carlo simulation of a spatially autocorrelated error model. The current study seeks to make this methodology more accessible ...

Mountainous areas with rugged terrains are widely distributed around the world. Remotely sensed values of the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR) suffer from the effect of rugged terrain. In this study, the effect of rugged terrain was incorporated into the FAPAR model based on recollision probability (FAPAR-P), which was improved in two aspects: calculating the sky...

horizon map Representing the Visibility Structure of a Polyhedral Terrain through a Horizon Map We present a model for describing the visibility of a polyhedral terrain from a xed viewpoint, based on a collection of nested horizons. We brie y introduce the concepts of mathematical and digital terrain models, and some background notions for visibility problems on terrains. Then, we de ne horizon...

In this work we investigate the effect of terrain modelling on the performance of planetary rovers, for the evaluation of design concepts under typical rover operation tasks. These tasks include: (1) straight line motion on a flat terrain or climbing a given slope; (2) climbing over a rock with one wheel-set while the other wheels move on flat or inclined terrain. The primary characterization a...

We consider the problem of terrain model acquisition by a roving point placed in an unknown terrain populated by stationary polyhedral obstacles in .two/three dimensions. The motivation for this problem is that after the terrain model is completely acquired, navigation from a source point to a destination point can be achieved along the collision-free paths. And this can be done without the usa...

In this paper we propose a new statistical model for SAR images. According to this model, the SAR image amplitude follows a product of Rayleigh and Bessel functions. We derive the maximum likelihood feature detector for extracting terrain features from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. The terrain features are classified as ridges and ravines according to their statistical properties and s...

A 1.5D terrain is an x-monotone polyline with n vertices. An imprecise 1.5D terrain is a 1.5D terrain with a y-interval at each vertex, rather than a fixed y-coordinate. A realization of an imprecise terrain is a sequence of n y-coordinates—one for each interval— such that each y-coordinate is within its corresponding interval. For certain applications in terrain analysis, it is important to be...

This thesis is concerned with development of a terrain model using Gaussian Processes to support the automation of open-pit mines. Information can be provided from a variety of sources including GPS, laser scans and manual surveys. The information is then fused together into a single representation of the terrain together with a measure of uncertainty of the estimated model. The model is also u...

In future planetary exploration missions, rovers will be required to autonomously traverse challenging environments. Much of the previous work in robot motion planning cannot be successfully applied to the rough-terrain planning problem. A model-based planning method is presented in this paper that is computationally efficient and takes into account uncertainty in the robot model, terrain model...

In this study, full waveform LiDAR data were exploited to improve the generation of a large-scale digital elevation model (DEM). Building on the methods of progressive generation of triangulation irregular network (TIN) model reported in the literature, we proposed an integrated approach. In this method, echo detection, terrain identification, and TIN generation were performed synergically and ...