Integrated Multi-Scalar Approach for 3D Cultural Heritage Acquisitions

Background

One of the most important consequences of the widespread use of range-based technologies in the Cultural Heritage field is the possibility to easily and quickly acquire huge amount of 3D information which can be used for different purposes that can change through time. These possibilities are actually modifying the expectations of users called to collect information about sites and artifacts, since they are widening the need to acquire complex and versatile data to be used in different contexts and for different communication aims. Despite these achievements, range sensors are still very expensive, need expertise and present persistent bottlenecks both in the reverse modeling process and in time consuming that often limit the possibilities of their widespread use.

During the last decade, the developments in the high-resolution digital photogrammetry field showed that 2D images can be used as tools able to derive detailed and accurate measures, as well as to record information on the radiometric characteristics of artifacts. These achievements, together with the lowering of costs of range sensors are actually offering the possibility to widen the digitization of sites and artifacts and are also stimulating investigations on the possibilities of their integration with the purpose of optimizing both final results and the whole pipeline [Velios and Harrison 2002; Guidi et al. 2002; Böhler and Marbs 2004; El-Hakim et al. 2004; Remondino 2011; Manferdini and Remondino 2012].