A New Method for Measuring Leveling Heights Using Computer Vision Techniques

Abstract

The levels and leveling techniques have developed over the last decades. The development of level instruments started with the appearance of precise levels, they are precise instruments used for precise leveling. The operation of digital levels is based on the digital processing of video indications of a coded staff. A new method for measuring leveling heights using computer vision techniques is proposed in this paper. The methodology implementation comprises capturing an image of a metric staff using a digital camera, then the height is computed by processing the image using a developed algorithm. The algorithm consists of two major steps. In the first step, the implemented software computes the meter and tenth of meter height values through recognizing numbers in the image. Then, it computes the rest of the decimal part digits from the coordinate difference between the image’s middle row (reading line) and E shape’s (or its mirror image) end row. The proposed algorithm works well for the tested precisions (1, 0.1, and 0.01milimeters), also it can measure the heights from a distance up to more than 100m. The testing results indicate that the measurement algorithm is workable and can be used as a low-cost alternative to the barcoded staff digital levels.