Evaluating multi-view geometry for satellite-based 3D city modeling: towards 1+N constellation configurations

Abstract

Abstract. The emergence of satellite constellations enables near-synchronous multi-view optical imaging, offering new opportunities for large-scale 3D city modeling. Yet a practically promising configuration, in which a primary near-nadir view is complemented by multiple oblique side-looking viewpoints, remains under-examined. This study develops a controlled semi-simulation framework to analyze how multi-view imaging geometry affects the recoverability of urban 3D structures. Under idealized conditions with imaging perturbations removed, e.g., radiometric, illumination, and sensor model errors, the experiments focus on three practical factors: the number of side-looking views, view obliqueness, and the constellation’s azimuthal orientation relative to the scene. With parameter sweep analysis, it reveals an asymmetric U-shaped trend between reconstruction performance and both the view count and the obliqueness: moderate angular diversity markedly strengthens urban scene recoverability. In contrast, large obliqueness reduces inter-view overlap and destabilizes matching, while excessive redundancy introduces consistency issues that ultimately degrade reconstruction performance. Furthermore, the results shows that geometric accuracy, completeness, and texture appearance each peak at different parameter combinations, revealing intrinsic trade-offs in multi-view urban reconstruction, as different evaluation criteria favor distinct optimal configurations. The study provides practical guidance for the geometric design and mission planning of multi-satellite constellations aimed at improving satellite-based 3D modeling in urban areas.