A monte carlo simulation study on the dome effect

Abstract. A dome-shape deformation has been found to affect the photogrammetric surface reconstruction in several real and simulated experiments. Its origin has been recognised in inaccurate estimation of the camera parameters and many papers already concentrated on conditions to avoid its development, especially as far as block design is concerned. This paper presents a Monte Carlo simulation to investigate surface reconstruction elevation errors in UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) photogrammetric blocks. The simulation tests are designed to find out the effect of block shape, camera axis inclination, side-lap, cross strips addition and block control by GCP or GNSS-assisted on the extent of the deformations. The main findings are: i) that GNSS-assisted blocks are generally more robust compared to GCP-controlled ones; ii) that, in GNSS-assisted blocks, unless a mix of nadiral and inclined strips is present, at least one fixed GCP must be provided; iii) that cross strip can conveniently be slimmed to save flight time and processing time; iv) that the effectiveness of GNSS deteriorate as the block shape slims out.