Deep learning-based tree classification using mobile LiDAR data

Abstract

Our work addresses the problem of extracting and classifying tree species from mobile LiDAR data. The work includes tree preprocessing and tree classification. In tree preprocessing, voxel-based upward-growing filtering is proposed to remove ground points from the mobile LiDAR data, followed by a tree segmentation that extracts individual trees via Euclidean distance clustering and voxel-based normalized cut segmentation. In tree classification, first, a waveform representation is developed to model geometric structures of trees. Then, deep learning techniques are used to generate high-level feature abstractions of the trees’ waveform representations. Quantitative analysis shows that our algorithm achieves an overall accuracy of 86.1% and a kappa coefficient of 0.8 in classifying urban tree species using mobile LiDAR data. Comparative experiments demonstrate that the uses of waveform representation and deep Boltzmann machines contribute to the improvement of classification accuracies of tree species.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Mr M. McAllister for his assistance in proofreading the article and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions in improving the clarity of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Startup Foundation for Introducing Talent of Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology (NUIST) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 41501501, 41471379].