Attention-Guided Semantic Segmentation and Scan-to-Model Geometric Reconstruction of Underground Tunnels from Mobile Laser Scanning

Mobile Laser Scanning (MLS) integrated with Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) has emerged as a key technology for digitizing GNSS-denied environments, such as underground mines. However, the automated interpretation of unstructured, high-density point clouds into semantic engineering models remains challenging due to extreme geometric anisotropy in point distributions and severe class imbalance inherent to narrow tunnel environments. To address these issues, this study proposes a highly automated scan-to-model framework for precise semantic segmentation and vectorized two-dimensional (2D) profile reconstruction. First, an enhanced hierarchical deep learning network tailored for point clouds is introduced. The architecture incorporates a context-aware sampling strategy with an expanded receptive field of up to 10 m to preserve axial continuity, coupled with a spatial–geometric dual-attention mechanism to refine boundary delineation. In addition, a composite Focal–Dice loss function is employed to alleviate the dominance of wall points during network training. Experimental validation on a field-collected dataset comprising 16 mine tunnels demonstrates that the proposed model achieves a mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) of 85.15% (±0.29%) and an Overall Accuracy (OA) of 95.13% (±0.13%). Building on this semantic foundation, a robust geometric modeling pipeline is established using curvature-guided filtering and density-adaptive B-spline fitting. The reconstructed profiles accurately recover the geometric mean surface of the tunnel wall, yielding an overall filtered Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 4.96 ± 0.48 cm. The proposed framework provides an efficient end-to-end solution for deformation analysis and digital twinning of underground mining infrastructure.

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Publication Details

Journal
Applied Sciences
Published
2026-03-21
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/app16063042
Primary Topic
3D Surveying and Cultural Heritage
Type
article
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article

Attention-Guided Semantic Segmentation and Scan-to-Model Geometric Reconstruction of Underground Tunnels from Mobile Laser Scanning

Xiaohui Li, Yingjia Huang, Jingliang Du, Jiang Ye
Applied Sciences
3D Surveying and Cultural Heritage
article

Attention-Guided Semantic Segmentation and Scan-to-Model Geometric Reconstruction of Underground Tunnels from Mobile Laser Scanning

Xiaohui Li, Yingjia Huang, Jingliang Du, Jiang Ye
article en

Abstract

Mobile Laser Scanning (MLS) integrated with Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) has emerged as a key technology for digitizing GNSS-denied environments, such as underground mines. However, the automated interpretation of unstructured, high-density point clouds into semantic engineering models remains challenging due to extreme geometric anisotropy in point distributions and severe class imbalance inherent to narrow tunnel environments. To address these issues, this study proposes a highly automated scan-to-model framework for precise semantic segmentation and vectorized two-dimensional (2D) profile reconstruction. First, an enhanced hierarchical deep learning network tailored for point clouds is introduced. The architecture incorporates a context-aware sampling strategy with an expanded receptive field of up to 10 m to preserve axial continuity, coupled with a spatial–geometric dual-attention mechanism to refine boundary delineation. In addition, a composite Focal–Dice loss function is employed to alleviate the dominance of wall points during network training. Experimental validation on a field-collected dataset comprising 16 mine tunnels demonstrates that the proposed model achieves a mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) of 85.15% (±0.29%) and an Overall Accuracy (OA) of 95.13% (±0.13%). Building on this semantic foundation, a robust geometric modeling pipeline is established using curvature-guided filtering and density-adaptive B-spline fitting. The reconstructed profiles accurately recover the geometric mean surface of the tunnel wall, yielding an overall filtered Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 4.96 ± 0.48 cm. The proposed framework provides an efficient end-to-end solution for deformation analysis and digital twinning of underground mining infrastructure.

Applied SciencesVol. 16(6)
Chengdu University of Technology (CN)
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
3D Surveying and Cultural Heritage
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Attention-Guided Semantic Segmentation and Scan-to-Model Geometric Reconstruction of Underground Tunnels from Mobile Laser Scanning — Xiaohui Li, Yingjia Huang, et al. · Applied Sciences (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS