2.5D Dual Contouring: A Robust Approach to Creating Building Models from Aerial LiDAR Point Clouds

We present a robust approach to creating 2.5D building models from aerial LiDAR point clouds. The method is guaranteed to produce crack-free models composed of complex roofs and vertical walls connecting them. By extending classic dual contouring into a 2.5D method, we achieve a simultaneous optimization over the three dimensional surfaces and the two dimensional boundaries of roof layers. Thus, our method can generate building models with arbitrarily shaped roofs while keeping the verticality of connecting walls. An adaptive grid is introduced to simplify model geometry in an accurate manner. Sharp features are detected and preserved by a novel and efficient algorithm.