Photogrammetry is a science with many fields of application in civil engineering where image processing is used for different purposes. In most cases, the use of multiple images simultaneously for the reconstruction of 3D scenes is commonly used. However, the use of isolated images is becoming more and more frequent, for which it is necessary to calculate the orientation of the image with respect to the object space (exterior orientation), which is usually made through three rotations through known points in the object space (Euler angles). We describe the resolution of this problem by means of a single rotation through the vanishing line of the image space and completely external to the object, to be more precise, without any contact with it. The results obtained appear to be optimal, and the procedure is simple and of great utility, since no points over the object are required, which is very useful in situations where access is difficult.
© 2008 Optical Society of America
Original Manuscript: April 28, 2008
Revised Manuscript: October 3, 2008
Manuscript Accepted: October 23, 2008
Published: December 8, 2008
Jaime Rodríguez, María T. Martín, José Herráez, and Pedro Arias, "Three-dimensional image orientation through only one rotation applied to image processing in engineering," Appl. Opt. 47, 6631-6637 (2008)