Development and assessment of a low-cost terrestrial mobile mapping system for transportation applications

Abstract

Nowadays Terrestrial Mobile Mapping Systems (TMMS) have been used for several applications, such as urban planning, road inventory and examination, vehicle mobility safety, etc. These systems are assembled with high precision sensors, such as GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receivers, Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) and high resolution digital cameras. Usually, by using a TMMS the main objective is to extract georeferenced information with a high position accuracy, which is achievable when applying high-quality sensors. The quality of a sensor is related to its performance, and consequently, to its value, which all together can easily totalize an amount around a hundred of thousand reais - without considering the platform. Considering the diversity of products that can be generated with a TMMS and their value for cities development, it should be accessible for public managers at a lower cost level, serving as a base information for taking strategic decisions. However, these systems are still expensive and their development are done in general by specialized companies. Regarding this drawback, the aim of this project is to evaluate the feasibility of creating a TMSS based on the integration of low cost set of equipment (TMSS-LC - Low Cost). As materials, an open-source electronic prototype platform (Arduino or similar), shields GNSS, INS module, and five GoPro® cameras will be used. All items will be integrated via hardware and software, and assembled on a mobile platform. It is intended to conduct several experiments in real conditions and assess the obtained results - position quality index of extracted road system attributes (signs, obstacles, etc). The evaluation will be carried out by comparing the attributes 3D coordinates with a reference dataset that will be collected by conventional surveying (total station and high precision GNSS receiver). As result, it is expected to describe possible applications for the low cost TMMS based on the performed experiments, and also to produce an assembly instruction material to be used for others research groups or general users, such as public managers. (AU)