Inclination Assessment of Objects with Circular Base Using Algebraic Circle Fitting, Linear Regression, and Bootstrapping

By using specialized geodetic networks, the best available instruments and methods, geodetic engineers try to assess stability of infrastructure objects. When stability of tall, slender objects is inspected, the main stability criterion is the object’s inclination, and some common geodetic approaches in structural health monitoring (SHM) cannot be used in this case. The challenge is greater if the objects do not have clearly defined edges but have cylindrical shape, which is common in architecture (industrial chimneys, silos, water towers, and wind turbine pillars). In this research, an algebraic circle fitting, two-dimensional (2D) linear regression, and bootstrapping model were used to assess inclination of an object from point cloud observations obtained from a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS). It is not always possible to observe the whole object of interest, so in this research, various cases regarding distribution of observations on the object’s surface were analyzed. The testing data sets were simulated by using MATLAB software, but also real-world data obtained by geodetic TLS was used to test the proposed model. The results showed that the proposed approach can give quality estimation of the object’s inclination for cases in which only a part of the object is observed.