The platform is part of a project implemented by the Faculty of Geodesy and Cartography and the Faculty of Civil Engineering.
– Our goal is the synergy and analysis of multisource data in the road surface inventory, as well as mapping of their surroundings – says Krzysztof Bakuła, PhD, Eng. from the Faculty of Geodesy and Cartography, the project manager.

The most important part of the research is to determine the method of integration of data related to the proper georeferencing, that is providing spatial orientation to geospatial multisource data in a known coordinate system, mutual calibration of navigation systems with a georadar (GPR), a lidar using light in the form of a pulse laser to measure the distance from the object, as well as photogrammetric cameras.

Mobile mapping platform

The aim of the project is also to develop a methodology for analyzing and visualizing data from various but integrated sources in order to obtain more accurate and reliable information when inventorying engineering facilities.

– The synergy of lidar and GPR data is needed for diagnostic reasons. The surface of the object, its structure, and the inventory of the environment can all be examined using data from laser scanning and photogrammetric cameras at centimeter-level resolution, whereas data from georadar measurements allow to examine the interior of the structure and determine its condition – explains Krzysztof Bakuła, PhD, Eng. – Consistent visualization of data in a uniform environment allows for it to be better understood and evaluated. – he emphasizes.  

The mobile road mapping platform is the result of the researchers' one year’s worth of work. It is equipped with, among other things: a laser scanner that is used for navigation using SLAM algorithms (simultaneous localization and mapping) in low-GNSS signal conditions, side cameras that gather images to create ambient point clouds, a high-resolution camera photographing the surface, a georadar that inventories the ground and infrastructure under the road, as well as a GNSS antenna.

With an automatic tracking function, the platform can be monitored in terms of the tachymeter trajectory. It allows for the collection of comprehensive 3D data from numerous sensors. Work is currently underway on the calibration of the measurement system, the integration of data during their acquisition, and the platform's pilot runs to find potential uses for future application projects and ways to advance the platform's development.

An example of data obtained from the mobile platform's ride around the Warsaw University of Technology's Main Building in Noakowskiego Street

The "Synergy and application of voluminous datasets obtained with integrated mobile mapping platform equipped with LIDAR and GPR" project is being implemented under the "Excellence Initiative - Research University" programme. It received a grant in the CyberiADa-2 Junior competition.