Hybrid Positioning and Sensor Integration

Utilization of a mobile platform is important for effectively acquiring spatial data over a wide area (Zhao & Shibasaki, 2000). Although mobile mapping technology was developed in the late 1980s, the more recent availability of Global Positioning Systems (GPSs) and inertial measurement units (IMUs), the latter being a combination of accelerometers and gyroscopes, has made mobile mapping systems possible, particularly for aerial surveys and ground vehicle surveys (Manandhar & Shibasaki, 2002). Remote sensors—such as image sensors or laser scanners—are instruments that gather information about an object or area from a distance. Using these sensors for surveying and collecting information from mobile platforms has become a valuable means of disaster mapping, environmental monitoring, and urban mapping, amongst others.