Accuracy Assessment of Topographic Volume Estimation Using Kompsat-3 and 3-A Stereo Data

The topographic volume estimation is carried out for the earth work of a construction site and quarry excavation monitoring. The topographic surveying using instruments such as engineering levels, total stations, and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) receivers have traditionally been used and the photogrammetric approach using drone systems has recently been introduced. However, these methods cannot be adopted for inaccessible areas where high resolution satellite images can be an alternative. We carried out experiments using Kompsat-3/3A data to estimate topographic volume for a quarry and checked the accuracy. We generated DEMs (Digital Elevation Model) using newly acquired Kompsat-3/3A data and checked the accuracy of the topographic volume estimation by comparing them to a reference DEM generated by timely operating a drone system. The experimental results showed that geometric differences between stereo images significantly lower the quality of the volume estimation. The tested Kompsat-3 data showed one meter level of elevation accuracy with the volume estimation error less than 1% while the tested Kompsat-3A data showed lower results because of the large geometric difference.