Detection of Microrelief Objects to Impede the Movement of Vehicles in Terrain

Abstract

Relief of terrain as a part of the landscape greatly affects the possibilities of vehicles moving off the road. The main influence on the movement is the slope of terrain and the occurrence of microrelief objects. While the slope limits can be easily modeled in the GIS environment, it is difficult to express the effect of the microrelief on the possibilities of moving vehicles. The aim of this work was to find procedures for identification of impassable microrelief objects using GIS tools and precise digital elevation models. Technical parameters defining the ability of a vehicle to overcome microrelief objects are known and these are mainly defined by the dimensions of the vehicle such as a wheel base, a ground clearance, approach angle, and others. Large-scale digital elevation models have not been able to reliably express the location and shape of microrelief objects until recently. Their accuracy of height in nodes achieved meter or decimeter values. The change occurred with the use of airborne laser scanning technology for digital elevation model creation. The accuracy of models created using this technology achieves centimeter values. These can be used for detection of microrelief objects. One of these models is the DMR5 from the territory of the Czech Republic. Its declared total mean height error is 0.18 meters. This model, together with the GIS tools and the technical parameters of individual vehicles, was used to search for such microrelief objects that act as a barrier to movement. Procedures for detecting impassable microrelief objects were created by ArcGIS tools. Modeling tools and mathematical methods were used to create procedures for detection of microrelief objects. These have been applied to selected locations in the Czech Republic. Raster layers representing individual impassable microrelief objects are the result of modeling. The modeling results were verified in the terrain using military vehicles. Field tests confirmed the high reliability of the proposed procedure. Therefore, the calculation process was optimized and will be introduced in the future as one of the input calculations of the complex model of passability in the Army of the Czech Republic.