Satellite Laser Altimetry Data-Supported High-Accuracy Mapping of GF-7 Stereo Images

GaoFen 7 (GF-7) is China's first submeter high-resolution stereo mapping satellite with dual-linear-array cameras and a laser altimeter system onboard for high-precision mapping. To further take advantage of the very high elevation accuracy of laser altimetry data and the high relative accuracy with stereo images, an innovative combined adjustment method for GF-7 stereo images with laser altimetry data is presented in this paper. In this method, two flexible and effective schemes were proposed to extract the elevation control point according to the registration of footprint images and stereo images and then utilized as vertical control in the block adjustment to improve the elevation accuracy without ground control points (GCPs). The validation experiments were conducted in Shandong, China, with different terrains. The results demonstrated that, after using the laser altimetry data, the root mean square error (RMSE) of elevation was dramatically improved from the original 2.15 m to 0.75 m, while the maximum elevation error was less than 1.6 m. Moreover, by integrating a few horizontal control points, the planar and elevation accuracy can be simultaneously improved. The results show that the method will be useful for reducing the need for field survey work and improving mapping efficiency.