The Future of Mapping – 3D Maps, the Comparison of two of the Most Used Methods in Photogrammetric Field

In the last 15 years, mapping technology has become a necessity in smart cities planning. And 2D are starting to be augmented by 3D maps. 3D Maps are already used in the cartographic field, to create a three-dimensional view of the terrain and buildings. In this paper we address the concept of 3D Maps and we compare two methods to generate such maps. In this study two 3D maps were built, one using photogrammetric 3D stereo-restitution and one using automatic extrusion from a LiDAR point cloud and a set of 2D vector polygons. Upon comparison of these maps, we have concluded that the accuracy of the two maps is very similar and it depends very much on the input data and we have observed that creating a precise 3D map in photogrammetric environment takes much longer than the one built using the LiDAR point cloud. As 3D maps become the future of mapping, there is a continuous need for more accurate and complete field data to be collected and processed. Once more detailed field data becomes available, a clear conclusion on which of the methods provide us with a more accurate 3D map could be drawn. The evolution of 3D mapping is rapidly growing together with the applications developed to use it, especially in surveying and material monitoring. The key to future development of smart cities in based on better designs and infrastructures, and 3D mapping technology is a vital instrument to assist such a development.