3D Modeling of Riverbeds Based on NURBS Algorithm

Modelling and visualization of riverbeds can provide topographic features and sedimentation distribution of river systems, which is essential to support water environment management. We developed a novel approach for building 3-dimensional (3D) models and visualization of riverbeds based on a non-uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) algorithm. We used an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) to collect water depth and GPS positions of a river system for modelling. A data reduction method was proposed to accelerate the modelling process while keeping the model accuracy. To obtain a more realistic 3D model of a riverbed, we applied an algorithm to optimize weight factors of control points. We achieved the algorithm on MATLAB, and experimental results show that the algorithm can visualize topographic features and sedimentation distribution of riverbeds in 3D models.