Cost effective spherical photogrammetry: A novel framework for the smart management of complex urban environments

The development and urban planning of a modern city, nowadays, should be entrusted on the implementation of methods and techniques which require a management of complex information. The final goal is to support local authorities for the decision making. Finding data that are often heterogeneous but nevertheless connected to each other is useful to create a virtuous management model based on an empirical and objective study system. It will therefore be important to develop a system of data retrieval, analysis and management as accurate as possible, usable by all the actors involved in the governance of the territories. The article focuses on the implementation of an effective workflow for the management of complex urban data, the final goal of such framework, is the creation of a Smart City 3D Platform capable of providing innovative services for tax assessment and collection. In particular, it investigates over the potential of using spherical photogrammetry, to guarantee fast, low-cost and reliable acquisition time. The resulting 3D model has been then georeferenced with GNSS coordinates to ensure the desired precision, while the assessment of the model has been done using laser scanner data as a ground truth. The point cloud obtained from the processing can be managed and edited in a WEBGIS, which merges 2D (cadastral register) and 3D (point cloud) data. The project is the result of the collaboration between the Università Politecnica delle Marche and the Company Andreani Tributi srl, with the aim of collecting information about the advertising structures present in the city of Brescia (Italy) for tax assessment.