Experiments with matching in the object space for aerotriangulation

A method for accurate and reliable image matching for aerotriangulation is described and experimental results are reported. Most matching methods use small image patches because they assume that the object surface around the point is planar. However, in order to increase reliability, large image patches that are more likely to contain significant information are necessary. In the method presented here, the matching is performed in the object space in order to minimize the geometric distortion of the image patches due to the relief. As a result, much larger image patches can be used, which increases both the accuracy and the reliability. Experimental results obtained from six different datasets confirm these expectations. The accuracy varies between 1/5 and 1/12 of a pixel.