Automatic Registration of Aerial Images with 3D LiDAR Data Using a Hybrid Intensity-Based Method

Automatic image registration is a basic step in multi-sensor data integration in remote sensing and photogrammetric operations such as data fusion. The effectiveness of intensity-based methods for automated multi-sensor image registration, such as Mutual Information (MI) and the Correlation Ratio (CR), have previously been demonstrated for medical and remote sensing applications. In this paper, a new hybrid intensity-based approach that utilizes both statistical and functional relationships between images, particularly in the case of registering aerial images and 3D point clouds, is presented. The performance of the proposed method for the registration of aerial orthoimagery and LiDAR range and intensity data has been experimentally evaluated and the results obtained are presented.