Three-Dimensional Tracking of Construction Resources Using an On-Site Camera System

• Published in: Journal of computing in civil engineering Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 541 - 549
• Main Authors: Park, Man-Woo, Koch, Christian, Brilakis, Ioannis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Reston, VA American Society of Civil Engineers 01.07.2012
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Buildings. Public works; Calibration; Cameras; Construction sites; Construction works; Exact sciences and technology; Frames; Mathematical models; Measurements. Technique of testing; Pixels; Site organization; Technical Papers; Tracking; Tracking (position); Two dimensional; Computer vision; Computer-aided vision system; Automation; Tracking; Imaging techniques; Modeling; Information technology; Movie camera; Remote sensing; Image analysis; Building site; Experimental result; Technology; Three dimensional system; Cameras; Information technology (IT); Models; Resource management; Construction management; Computer aid
• ISSN: 0887-3801; 1943-5487
• DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CP.1943-5487.0000168

AbstractVision trackers have been proposed as a promising alternative for tracking at large-scale, congested construction sites. They provide the location of a large number of entities in a camera view across frames. However, vision trackers provide only two-dimensional (2D) pixel coordinates, which are not adequate for construction applications. This paper proposes and validates a method that overcomes this limitation by employing stereo cameras and converting 2D pixel coordinates to three-dimensional (3D) metric coordinates. The proposed method consists of four steps: camera calibration, camera pose estimation, 2D tracking, and triangulation. Given that the method employs fixed, calibrated stereo cameras with a long baseline, appropriate algorithms are selected for each step. Once the first two steps reveal camera system parameters, the third step determines 2D pixel coordinates of entities in subsequent frames. The 2D coordinates are triangulated on the basis of the camera system parameters to obtain 3D coordinates. The methodology presented in this paper has been implemented and tested with data collected from a construction site. The results demonstrate the suitability of this method for on-site tracking purposes.