This paper showcases the development and use of a multifunctional topographic software, which is entirely written and implemented in Python, using only open-source libraries and resources. The main objective of this paper is to create a reliable, flexible and fast tool that is able to transform the coordinates of a set of points into a new CRS (Coordinate Reference System) based on a set of control points (often called GCP), using various methods and algorithms, like the Gauss–Markov stochastic functional model for indirect observations. Beyond the aforementioned transformations, the present program is able to calculate and generate the 3D digital terrain model (DTM) from the elevation data of the provided set of points and then produce contour lines at a given interval by means of Delaunay triangulation, which can then be exported to DXF format.Currently, the market of such applications may appear oversaturated, but in reality, the most popular solutions require a substantial investment and often rely on proprietary solutions and algorithms, which may or may not be well documented. In contrast, the solution presented in this paper enhances reproducibility and transparency of the results by using open-source solutions and a versatile programming language, Python.The methodology involves the use of various numerical transformation techniques for coordinate compensation, geometric algorithms for coordinate transformation, interpolation methods for generating the DTM and others.The results obtained using the software demonstrate that the program can be, in various aspects, comparable to those obtained with commercial tools, and in some even better, the reason for this being the fact that the software was specifically designed with topographic situations in mind. The implications of this work are relevant, because it provides a transparent, well-documented and extensible alternative to popular commercial applications. This software may be unique, as it implements many different concepts from various fields that are close to topography, like GIS, photogrammetry, statistics, machine learning etc., within a full Python framework.

Python, CRS, DTM, Gauss-Markov, Delaunay, DXF, GIS, contour

geodesy engineering

Presentation: poster