Acta Geodaetica et Cartographica Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (1): 52-63.doi: 10.11947/j.AGCS.2025.20240273

• Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing • Previous Articles    

A block-wise polynomial distortion model for airborne composite large-format camera

Zuxun ZHANG(), Xinbo ZHAO, Yansong DUAN()   

  1. School of Remote Sensing and Information Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China
  • Received:2024-07-03 Revised:2024-12-29 Published:2025-02-17
  • Contact: Yansong DUAN E-mail:zhangzx@cae.cn;ysduan@whu.edu.cn
  • About author:ZHANG Zuxun (1937—), male, professor, PhD supervisor, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, majors in digital photogrammetry and remote sensing. E-mail: zhangzx@cae.cn
  • Supported by:
    The National Key Research and Development Program of China(2023YFB3905704)

Abstract:

The airborne composite large-format camera has gained widespread popularity in remote sensing and surveying due to its high resolution and wide coverage. However, various complex distortions arise during the imaging process owing to factors such as manufacturing processes and assembly precision, which impact image quality and the accuracy of geometric processing. This paper proposes a block-wise polynomial distortion model tailored to the characteristics of mosaic aerial frame cameras. The core idea of this model is to divide the imaging plane into multiple sub-image blocks guided by the residual vector field from Brown's distortion model calibration, and describe distortions within each sub-block using polynomials, thereby effectively correcting various complex distortions. Additionally, a cloud-controlled calibration scheme is designed to solve for the block-wise polynomial parameters. Taking the AFC-900 camera developed by the Beijing Institute of Aerospace Mechatronics as the research subject, the paper conducted cloud-controlled calibration of the camera in Zhaodong. Subsequently, production verification was carried out in three survey areas: Zhaodong, Jiexiu, and Miluo. The results demonstrate that the distortion model proposed in this paper can correct distortions in the AFC-900 camera to within 0.5 pixels, and the accuracy of the production outcomes meets the specifications for large-scale mapping at scales of 1∶500 and 1∶2000.

Key words: airborne composite large-format camera, distortion model, block-wise polynomial, cloud-controlled calibration

CLC Number: