Accuracy analysis of 3D point clouds obtained from camera and LiDAR sensors of smartphones and tablets

Abstract

The importance of portable and wearable smart mobile devices (phone, tablet, watch, glasses, etc.) is increasing day by day in the digitalizing spatial information industry. Smartphones come to the fore in this industry with their usage rate and economic market share. Cameras with different resolutions are used in these devices, which are relatively low cost compared to professional equipment and have many sensor features. With the laser scanning (LiDAR) sensor feature added to some smartphones and tablet models that have been recently introduced to the market, this development was taken one step further and the infrastructure for the effective use of camera + LiDAR sensors in engineering measurement applications has been developed. These features offer cheaper alternatives for 3D modeling and augmented reality (Augmented Reality, AR). In this study, images and point clouds obtained with camera+LiDAR sensors of objects defined in different sizes and geometric shapes in indoor and outdoor spaces by using smart devices (phone + tablet) for high accuracy spatial information production with 3D measurement and modeling were analyzed and then they were compared using C2C and M3C2 deviation analysis methods. Considering the results, the accuracy of the 3D models obtained with smart mobile devices embedded with innovative technological sensors has revealed that these devices are a dominant alternative for the use of these devices in many different sectors in terms of the spatial information industry.