Construction of digital 3D highway model using stereo IKONOS satellite imagery

This study aims to assess the accuracy of using stereo high resolution satellite imagery for extracting the highway profiles and plans and constructing accurate 3D highway visualization model. Two stereo-pair IKONOS satellite images for Hong Kong and Toronto are geo-referenced by using a number of ground control points acquired by global positioning system measurements. A polynomial-based generic pushbroom model and rational function model are used to perform the sensor orientation, respectively. The highway alignments are extracted semiautomatically using stereoscopic measurements, and a 3D digital model along the highway is constructed. It is found that the highway alignments retrieved from the stereo IKONOS images result in less than 1-m root mean squared error in most of the cases in the horizontal and vertical directions. Near half-pixel accuracy can be achieved by using pansharpening stereo satellite imagery and under the condition that clear road surface markings can be identified along the highway.