Ramerenwald Close Range Remote Sensing Benchmark

Benchmarks are needed to evaluate the performance of different close-range remote sensing devices and approaches, both in terms of efficiency as well as accuracy. In this study we evaluate the performance of two terrestrial (TLS), one handheld mobile (PLS) and two drone based (UAVLS) laser scanning systems to detect trees and extract the diameter at breast height (DBH) in three plots with a steep gradient in tree and understorey vegetation density.

As a novelty, we also tested the acquisition of 3D point-clouds using a low-cost action camera (GoPro) in conjunction with the Structure from Motion (SfM) technique and compared its performance with those of the more costly LiDAR devices.