3D Reconstruction of Internal Wood Decay Using Photogrammetry and Sonic Tomography

Knowledge of deteriorations within tree trunks is critical for arborists to conduct individual tree health assessments. Sonic tree tomography, a non-destructive technique using sound waves, has been widely used to estimate the size and shape of internal decay based on sound wave velocity variations. However, it has commonly been applied to 2D horizontal or vertical cross sections and its accuracy is questionable due to the poor approximation of the shape of the cross section. This paper proposes an integration of close-range photogrammetry and sonic tomography to enable accurate reconstruction of the exterior and interior of the tree trunk in 3D. The internal wood quality is represented by the spatially interpolated sound wave velocities, using the time of flight of the sound waves and the coordinates of the acoustic sensors obtained from the photogrammetric model. Experimental results show that the proposed approach provides a realistic 3D visualisation of the size, shape and location of the internal deteriorations.