MEASURING VOLUMETRIC AND AREAL CHANGE IN STRUCTURE FROM MOTION MODELS AND APPLICATIONS

The generation of point-clouds using photogrammetry can create accurate and useful change detection tools inexpensively. This study compares point-clouds of different geologic samples to measure differences in point-cloud products and to test software capability and photogrammetric methods. Accurate point-cloud generation is made using average consumer DSLR photogrammetry and automatically detected and scaled ground control points (GCPs) in Agisoft photoscan software. Areal and volumetric differences are detectable using two point-cloud manipulating softwares: CloudCompare and Blender. Along with areal and volumetric measurements, differences in user error is determined to better understand measurement results, limitations of the programs, and to identify potential sources for error.