Ground-Level Surface Reconstruction and Soil Volume Estimation in Construction Sites Using Marching Cubes Method

Accurate environmental sensing is pivotal for advancing automation in construction, particularly in autonomous excavation. Precise 3D representations of complex and dynamic site geometries is essential for obstacle detection, progress monitoring, and safe operation. However, existing sensing techniq...

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Main Authors: Fattah Hanafi Sheikhha, Jaho Seo, Hanmin Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/13/7595
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author Fattah Hanafi Sheikhha
Jaho Seo
Hanmin Lee
author_facet Fattah Hanafi Sheikhha
Jaho Seo
Hanmin Lee
author_sort Fattah Hanafi Sheikhha
collection DOAJ
description Accurate environmental sensing is pivotal for advancing automation in construction, particularly in autonomous excavation. Precise 3D representations of complex and dynamic site geometries is essential for obstacle detection, progress monitoring, and safe operation. However, existing sensing techniques often struggle with capturing irregular surfaces and incomplete data in real-time, leading to significant challenges in practical deployment. To address these gaps, we present a novel framework integrating curve approximation, surface reconstruction, and marching cubes algorithm to transform raw sensor data into a detailed and computationally efficient soil surface representation. Our approach improves site modeling accuracy, paving the way for reliable and efficient construction automation. This paper enhances sensory data quality using surface reconstruction techniques, followed by the marching cubes algorithm to generate an accurate and flexible 3D soil model. This model facilitates rapid estimation of soil volume, weight, and shape, offering an efficient approach for environmental analysis and decision-making in automated systems. Experimental validation demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method, achieving relative errors of 4.92% and 1.42% across two excavation cycles. Additionally, the marching cubes algorithm completed volume estimation in just 0.05 s, confirming the approach’s accuracy and suitability for real-time applications in dynamic construction environments.
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spelling doaj-art-9309e6bd8e2c443bae9e784fedc786a82025-08-20T03:16:41ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-07-011513759510.3390/app15137595Ground-Level Surface Reconstruction and Soil Volume Estimation in Construction Sites Using Marching Cubes MethodFattah Hanafi Sheikhha0Jaho Seo1Hanmin Lee2Department of Automotive and Mechatronics Engineering, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5, CanadaDepartment of Automotive and Mechatronics Engineering, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5, CanadaDepartment of Industrial Machinery DX, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Daejeon 305343, Republic of KoreaAccurate environmental sensing is pivotal for advancing automation in construction, particularly in autonomous excavation. Precise 3D representations of complex and dynamic site geometries is essential for obstacle detection, progress monitoring, and safe operation. However, existing sensing techniques often struggle with capturing irregular surfaces and incomplete data in real-time, leading to significant challenges in practical deployment. To address these gaps, we present a novel framework integrating curve approximation, surface reconstruction, and marching cubes algorithm to transform raw sensor data into a detailed and computationally efficient soil surface representation. Our approach improves site modeling accuracy, paving the way for reliable and efficient construction automation. This paper enhances sensory data quality using surface reconstruction techniques, followed by the marching cubes algorithm to generate an accurate and flexible 3D soil model. This model facilitates rapid estimation of soil volume, weight, and shape, offering an efficient approach for environmental analysis and decision-making in automated systems. Experimental validation demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method, achieving relative errors of 4.92% and 1.42% across two excavation cycles. Additionally, the marching cubes algorithm completed volume estimation in just 0.05 s, confirming the approach’s accuracy and suitability for real-time applications in dynamic construction environments.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/13/7595surface reconstructionmarching cubessensingautonomous excavationconstruction site
spellingShingle Fattah Hanafi Sheikhha
Jaho Seo
Hanmin Lee
Ground-Level Surface Reconstruction and Soil Volume Estimation in Construction Sites Using Marching Cubes Method
Applied Sciences
surface reconstruction
marching cubes
sensing
autonomous excavation
construction site
title Ground-Level Surface Reconstruction and Soil Volume Estimation in Construction Sites Using Marching Cubes Method
title_full Ground-Level Surface Reconstruction and Soil Volume Estimation in Construction Sites Using Marching Cubes Method
title_fullStr Ground-Level Surface Reconstruction and Soil Volume Estimation in Construction Sites Using Marching Cubes Method
title_full_unstemmed Ground-Level Surface Reconstruction and Soil Volume Estimation in Construction Sites Using Marching Cubes Method
title_short Ground-Level Surface Reconstruction and Soil Volume Estimation in Construction Sites Using Marching Cubes Method
title_sort ground level surface reconstruction and soil volume estimation in construction sites using marching cubes method
topic surface reconstruction
marching cubes
sensing
autonomous excavation
construction site
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/13/7595
work_keys_str_mv AT fattahhanafisheikhha groundlevelsurfacereconstructionandsoilvolumeestimationinconstructionsitesusingmarchingcubesmethod
AT jahoseo groundlevelsurfacereconstructionandsoilvolumeestimationinconstructionsitesusingmarchingcubesmethod
AT hanminlee groundlevelsurfacereconstructionandsoilvolumeestimationinconstructionsitesusingmarchingcubesmethod