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Semantic Export Module for Close Range Photogrammetry

Chapter · October 2019

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-32327-1_1

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 Semantic Export Module for Close Range
Photogrammetry

Mohamed Ben Ellefi1[0000−0003−4458−0919] and Pierre Drap1[0000−0003−0528−9280]

Aix Marseille University, CNRS, Université De Toulon, LIS UMR 7020, 13397
Marseille, France
{mohamed.ben-ellefi, pierre.drap}@univ-amu.fr

Abstract. With the progress of 2D/3D visualization systems, models

and software that effectively integrate graphical content with domain-
specific knowledge become the adopted solution to allow the interroga-
tion, understanding, interpretation and manipulation of visualized in-
formation. This paper introduces a software module that extends our
data-lifting toolbox to automatic export of photogrammetry informa-
tion from the Agisoft software (photogrammetric processing of digital
images and 3D spatial data generation) into a semantic knowledge base
representation.

Keywords: Semantic Web · Ontology · 3D · Photogrammetry.

1 Introduction
With the progress of 3D technologies, photogrammetry techniques become the
adopted solution for representing science-driven data by turning photos from
small finds, to entire landscapes, into accurate 3D models.
This paper proposes a module that explicitly couples the photogrammetry
process to a semantic knowledge base modeled by our photogrammetry-oriented
ontology, Arpenteur1 . This coupling is represented in form of an export mod-
ule for Agisoft2 to transform the spatial 3D data into a knowledge base mod-
eled by the Arpenteur ontology. This exportation is particularly useful in the
pipeline process within our photogrammetry-driven toolbox Arpenteur3 for se-
mantic data-lifting: from image gathering to 3D/VR modeling coupled with the
knowledge representation by Arpenteur ontology.
This module is based on Semantic Web technologies where ontologies provide
us with the theoretic and axiomatic basis of the underlying knowledge bases.
In this context, different approaches have been proposed to permit semantic
representation and modeling of synthetic 3D content, a state of the art review
is detailed in [7].
The paper is organized as follows: Section 2 presents our solution for mapping
Agisoft python API to the Arpenteur ontology concepts detailing the adopted
1
http://arpenteur.org/ontology/Arpenteur.owl
2
https://www.agisoft.com/
3
http://www.arpenteur.org/
2 Ben Ellefi et al.

photogrammetry configuration. Section 3 depicts a use case scenario of exporting

and exploiting the Xlendi shipwreck. Finally, Section 4 concludes and presents
future work plans.

Fig. 1. Mapping Agisoft Metashape python API to the Arpenteur ontology

2 Agisoft To Arpenteur Concepts Mappings

The mapping between the two softwares is limited to the generic concept of pho-
togrammetric model as defined in K. Kraus [8]: photographs, camera, internal
and external orientation, 3D points and their observations done onto the pho-
tographs. For example feature description and dense cloud are not supported by
this mapping.
These two photogrammetry software manipulate similar concepts but of
course the translation of digital data from one to the other will have to support
some adjustments. For example, the concept of Photograph in the Arpenteur is
similar to Camera in Agisoft.
In Arpenteur, a Photograph is the image produced by a camera (film-based
or digital) and the Camera is the object that produces the Photograph. This
Camera in Agisoft is translated by the concept of Sensor. It should be noted
that the concept of Sensor in Agisoft is more complex and will not be fully used,
for example it supports the notion of Plane which refers to multi-sensor camera
rig approach. This feature is not used in Arpenteur. The Arpenteur Camera
 Semantic Export Module for Close Range Photogrammetry 3

Radial Decentring Distortion is so mapped with the Agisoft Sensor Calibration

which manages standard internal orientation and lens distortion. 3D points and
their 2D projection on images are present of course in both softwares even if
they are not modeled in the same way. Hence, an ontology mapping will allow
the exchange of information between these two softwares. Figure 1 recapitulates
the mapping pattern used for linking Agisoft python API to the Arpenteur
photogrammetry concepts.

Radial distortion Configuration

Since both approaches are based on a standard description of close photogram-

metry, it is relatively easy to establish a direct mapping of concepts between
Arpenteur and Agisoft. The only remarkably different point is how to describe
radial distortion.
Distortion is a physical phenomenon that sometime may greatly impact an
image’s geometry without impairing quality nor reducing the information present
in the image. Applying the projective pinhole camera model is often not possible
without taking into account the distortion caused by the camera lens. So, most
photogrammetry software models distortion using the well known polynomial
approach proposed by Brown in the 1970s [4]. However, although we have the
equations to compensate the distortion, how to compute the inverse function in
order to apply such a distortion is not obvious. And this is a crucial technical
point, currently most photogrammetric software use the same equations to man-
age distortion, but some use the mathematical model to apply distortion and
other to compensate it and this is exactly the case of the Arpenteur vs Agisoft
configuration. To solve this problem of inverse radial distortion, which is not
obvious in the context of polynomial approach, some software use an iterative
solution [1]. In our case this is not possible: we need to express the polynomial
coefficient for Agisoft using the known coefficient used in Arpenteur.
A solution is proposed in [5] and is implemented in this paper. Here are
the formula for the four first coefficients bn for Agisoft computed from the four
coefficients −kn used in Arpenteur:
b1 = −k1 ; b2 = 3k12 − k2 ; b3 = −12k13 + 8k1 k2 − k3 ;
4 2 2
b4 = 55k1 − 55k1 k2 + 5k2 + 10k1 k3 − k4 ;

3 Xlendi Shipwreck Use Case

We consider the Phoenician shipwreck of Xlendi (Malta) as a use case scenario,

where data was gathered by modern photogrammetry techniques presented in a
previous work [6] in the framework of the GROPLAN project4 . Successive dives
on the Xlendi wreck have resulted in several temporal datasets corresponding
to seven surveys dates.
4
http://www.groplan.eu
4 Ben Ellefi et al.

An Xlendi artifacts dataset describing the typological and the morpholog-

ical description of artifacts was published as Linked Open Data presented in
previous work [3]. While Xlendi artifacts dataset was introduced manually by
archaeologists, the photogrammetric description (camera settings, interior and
exterior orientation parameters, extracted and matched 2D/3D points) was au-
tomatically exported from the Agisoft software to an ontology file containing the
TBox + ABox description. This paper introduces the used exportation module,
which is in form of a python script that can be called directly from the Agisoft
Metashape sophtware. The script is made available as open source on GitHub5 .
In the context of Xlendi shipwreck LOD data publishing, we stored the dif-
ferent datasets in an Apache Jena Apache TDB6 which is embeded in a Fuseki7
server. Seven SPARQL GUI user interfaces are made accessible online via our
2D/3D Web tools, allowing to query Xlendi datasets that correspond to the
seven survey dates. Listing 1.1 depicts an example of a SPARQL query retriev-
ing the position and the orientation settings of an Xlendi photograph, i.e. the
”John Stills CC-309”8 photograph from the 2018-09-21 dataset9 .

Listing 1.1. An example of a SPARQL query to retrieve the position (x,y,z) and
the orientation matrix of ”John Stills CC-309” photograph to be performed on Xlendi
2018-09-21 dataset.

PREFIX
arp :< h t t p : / /www. a r p e n t e u r . o r g / o n t o l o g y / Arpenteur . owl#>

SELECT d i s t i n c t ? x ? y ? z ?m00 ?m01 ?m02 ?m10 ?m11 ?m12

WHERE {
? photo a arp : Photograph ;
arp : hasName ? photoName ;
arp : hasTransformation3D ? t r a n s f o r m a t i o n .
F i l t e r c o n t a i n s ( s t r ( ? photoName ) , ’ J o h n S t i l l s C C −309 ’) .

? t r a n s f o r m a t i o n arp : h a s T r a n s l a t i o n ? t r a n s l a t i o n ;
arp : h a s R o t a t i o n M a t r i x ? matrix .

? t r a n s l a t i o n arp : hasX ? x ; arp : hasY ? y ; arp : hasZ ? z .

? matrix arp : has m00 ?m00 ; arp : has m01 ?m01 ;
arp : has m02 ?m02 ; arp : has m10 ?m10 ;
arp : has m11 ?m11 ; arp : has m12 ?m12 ; }


5
https://github.com/benellefi/ExportAgisoftOWL
6
https://jena.apache.org/documentation/tdb/index.html
7
https://jena.apache.org/documentation/fuseki2/
8
http://www.lsis.org/groplan/survey/20180921/20180921_John_Stills_
CC-309.jpg
9
http://www.arpenteur.org/ontology/temporal/20180921.html
 Semantic Export Module for Close Range Photogrammetry 5

The lifted Xlendi datasets are published in a 2D/3D Web representation

coupled with the knowledge base datasets in user-friendly web tools available
online10 for querying and semantic consumption of the data, as detailed in [2].

4 Conclusions
In this paper, we introduced a module (python script) for automatic export of
the photogrammetry description into a knowledge base dataset modeled by the
Arpenteur ontology. This module extends the Agisoft software used in our pho-
togrammetry process. The automatic export is handled by mapping the Arpen-
teur ontology to the tool’s API. A real data wreck scenario Xlendi was presented
in which the photogrammetry process was automatically exported by this new
module.
In parallel with the photogrammetry description, we are currently working
on the implementation of an ontology-based virtual reality representation to
provide a panoramic view (2D / 3D / VR) of the data coupled to the semantics
knowledge.

References
1. Alvarez, L., Gómez, L., Sendra, J. R.: An algebraic approach to lens distortion by
line rectification. Journal of Mathematical Imaging and Vision, 2009.35(1), 36-50.
2. Ben Ellefi, M., Drap, P., Papini, O., Merad, D., Royer J.-P., Nawaf, M.-M., Nocerino,
E., Hyttinen, K., Sourisseau, J.- C., Gambin, T., Castro, F.: Ontology-based web
tools for retrieving photogrammetric cultural heritage models. In Underwater 3D
recording & modeling. ISPRS, Limassol, Cyprus (2019).
3. Ben Ellefi, M., Nawaf, M., Sourisseau, J. C., Gambin, T., Castro, F., Drap,
P.: Clustering over the Cultural Heritage Linked Open Dataset: Xlendi Ship-
wreck. In Proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Semantic Web for
Cultural Heritage co-located with the 15th Extended Semantic Web Conference,
SW4CH@ESWC 2018. LNCS Vol. 8, pp. 1-10. Heraklion, Crete, Greece (2018).
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vol. 37, no 8, p. 855-866. (1971).
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tortions. Sensors 16, 6 (2016).
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CHEMISKY, B., SEINTURIER, J., SOURISSEAU, J.-C., GAMBIN, T., CASTRO,
F.: Underwater photogrammetry and object modeling: A case study of xlendi wreck
in malta. Sensors 15, 12 (2015), 3035130384.
7. Flotyński, J., WALCZAK, K.: Ontology-based representation and modelling of syn-
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10
https://www.lsis.org/groplan/svg/xlendi/xlendi.html

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