LIDAR-based change detection of buildings in dense urban areas

An automatic method for LIDAR-based (Light Detection And Ranging) change detection is proposed. Highly dense LIDAR point clouds are recommended as the most suitable gathered data for dense urban areas. The main goal is to develop an up-to-date building inventory database, which is in great demand for the earthquake-prone areas like Japan, using LIDAR as primary data. Two LIDAR surveying flights in 1999 and 2004 provide the test data over Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan. Detected results are visual evaluation using orthophoto produced by LIDAR surveying flights. The highly automated processing proved the efficiency of using LIDAR for a quick and reliable updating. Moreover, it also implies the feasibility for detection of damaged buildings due to earthquake.