Precise calibration of a rotation photogrammetric system

Rotation photogrammetric systems are widely used for 3D information acquisition, where high-precision calibration is one of the critical steps. This study first shows how to derive the rotation model and deviation model in the object space coordinate system according to the basic structure of the system and the geometric relationship of the related coordinate systems. Then, overall adjustment of multi-images from a surveying station is employed to calibrate the rotation matrix and the deviation matrix of the system. The exterior orientation parameters of images captured by other surveying stations can be automatically calculated for 3D reconstruction. Finally, real measured data from Wumen wall of the Forbidden City is employed to verify the performance of the proposed calibration method. Experimental results show that this method is accurate and reliable and that a millimetre level precision can be obtained in practice.