scholarly journals Structure from Motion and Archaeological Excavation: Experiences of the Via Consolare Project in Pompeii

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-107
Author(s):  
Michael Andrew Anderson

The last decade of advances in Image-Based Modeling (IBM) data acquisition based on Structure from Motion (SfM) have made it possible as never before to record excavated archaeological deposits, historical architectural remains, artifacts, and geographical surroundings in the field. Armed only with digital cameras and low-cost or open-source software, researchers can now produce accurate point clouds of millions of points, capturing archaeological information in high-resolution detail. But what changes will IBM really bring to the standards, requirements, and expectations of practical field methodology for projects operating on shoe-string budgets? Since 2010, the Via Consolare Project, a small archaeological research project from a State level University, has employed an entirely open-source and “free for academic use” IBM pipeline to record a variety of archaeological features in Insula VII 6 and the “Villa delle Colonne a mosaico” in Pompeii. Ranging from surviving architecture, to rubble fill layers, to the interiors of inaccessible cisterns and drains, this work has been carried out in preparation for the eventual coordination of these data into a 3D GIS of all recorded stratigraphy. Rarely were sufficient resources available for dedicated equipment or personnel to be devoted to this task. While practical implementation, even in a low-budget excavation environment, has confirmed that this technology can indeed augment archaeological field documentation and provide investigation opportunities that would otherwise be impossible, it failed to replace traditional handdrafted recording techniques and was found to present significant challenges and a number of hidden costs. This emphasizes a need for appropriate and cautious planning in implementation, especially in projects with limited means.

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 55-61
Author(s):  
Ettore Potente ◽  
Cosimo Cagnazzo ◽  
Alessandro Deodati ◽  
Giuseppe Mastronuzzi

Author(s):  
Ismail Elkhrachy

This paper analyses and evaluate the precision and the accuracy the capability of low-cost terrestrial photogrammetry by using many digital cameras to construct a 3D model of an object. To obtain the goal, a building façade has imaged by two inexpensive digital cameras such as Canon and Pentax camera. Bundle adjustment and image processing calculated by using Agisoft PhotScan software. Several factors will be included during this study, different cameras, and control points. Many photogrammetric point clouds will be generated. Their accuracy will be compared with some natural control points which collected by the laser total station of the same building. The cloud to cloud distance will be computed for different comparison 3D models to investigate different variables. The practical field experiment showed a spatial positioning reported by the investigated technique was between 2-4cm in the 3D coordinates of a façade. This accuracy is optimistic since the captured images were processed without any control points.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ankit Kumar Verma ◽  
Mary Carol Bourke

Abstract. We have generated sub-millimetre-resolution DEMs of weathered rock surfaces using SfM photogrammetry techniques. We apply a close-range method based on structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry in the field and use it to generate high-resolution topographic data for weathered boulders and bedrock. The method was pilot tested on extensively weathered Triassic Moenkopi sandstone outcrops near Meteor Crater in Arizona. Images were taken in the field using a consumer-grade DSLR camera and were processed in commercially available software to build dense point clouds. The point clouds were registered to a local 3-D coordinate system (x, y, z), which was developed using a specially designed triangle-coded control target and then exported as digital elevation models (DEMs). The accuracy of the DEMs was validated under controlled experimental conditions. A number of checkpoints were used to calculate errors. We also evaluated the effects of image and camera parameters on the accuracy of our DEMs. We report a horizontal error of 0.5 mm and vertical error of 0.3 mm in our experiments. Our approach provides a low-cost method for obtaining very high-resolution topographic data on weathered rock surfaces (area < 10 m2). The results from our case study confirm the efficacy of the method at this scale and show that the data acquisition equipment is sufficiently robust and portable. This is particularly important for field conditions in remote locations or steep terrain where portable and efficient methods are required.


Author(s):  
V. Petras ◽  
A. Petrasova ◽  
J. Jeziorska ◽  
H. Mitasova

Today’s methods of acquiring Earth surface data, namely lidar and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery, non-selectively collect or generate large amounts of points. Point clouds from different sources vary in their properties such as number of returns, density, or quality. We present a set of tools with applications for different types of points clouds obtained by a lidar scanner, structure from motion technique (SfM), and a low-cost 3D scanner. To take advantage of the vertical structure of multiple return lidar point clouds, we demonstrate tools to process them using 3D raster techniques which allow, for example, the development of custom vegetation classification methods. Dense point clouds obtained from UAV imagery, often containing redundant points, can be decimated using various techniques before further processing. We implemented and compared several decimation techniques in regard to their performance and the final digital surface model (DSM). Finally, we will describe the processing of a point cloud from a low-cost 3D scanner, namely Microsoft Kinect, and its application for interaction with physical models. All the presented tools are open source and integrated in GRASS GIS, a multi-purpose open source GIS with remote sensing capabilities. The tools integrate with other open source projects, specifically Point Data Abstraction Library (PDAL), Point Cloud Library (PCL), and OpenKinect libfreenect2 library to benefit from the open source point cloud ecosystem. The implementation in GRASS GIS ensures long term maintenance and reproducibility by the scientific community but also by the original authors themselves.


Author(s):  
M. Zacharek ◽  
P. Delis ◽  
M. Kedzierski ◽  
A. Fryskowska

These studies have been conductedusing non-metric digital camera and dense image matching algorithms, as non-contact methods of creating monuments documentation.In order toprocess the imagery, few open-source software and algorithms of generating adense point cloud from images have been executed. In the research, the OSM Bundler, VisualSFM software, and web application ARC3D were used. Images obtained for each of the investigated objects were processed using those applications, and then dense point clouds and textured 3D models were created. As a result of post-processing, obtained models were filtered and scaled.The research showedthat even using the open-source software it is possible toobtain accurate 3D models of structures (with an accuracy of a few centimeters), but for the purpose of documentation and conservation of cultural and historical heritage, such accuracy can be insufficient.


Author(s):  
S. Cucchiaro ◽  
E. Maset ◽  
A. Fusiello ◽  
F. Cazorzi

In recent years, the combination of Structure-from-Motion (SfM) algorithms and UAV-based aerial images has revolutionised 3D topographic surveys for natural environment monitoring, offering low-cost, fast and high quality data acquisition and processing. A continuous monitoring of the morphological changes through multi-temporal (4D) SfM surveys allows, e.g., to analyse the torrent dynamic also in complex topography environment like debris-flow catchments, provided that appropriate tools and procedures are employed in the data processing steps. In this work we test two different software packages (3DF Zephyr Aerial and Agisoft Photoscan) on a dataset composed of both UAV and terrestrial images acquired on a debris-flow reach (Moscardo torrent &amp;ndash; North-eastern Italian Alps). Unlike other papers in the literature, we evaluate the results not only on the raw point clouds generated by the Structure-from- Motion and Multi-View Stereo algorithms, but also on the Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) created after post-processing. Outcomes show differences between the DTMs that can be considered irrelevant for the geomorphological phenomena under analysis. This study confirms that SfM photogrammetry can be a valuable tool for monitoring sediment dynamics, but accurate point cloud post-processing is required to reliably localize geomorphological changes.


Author(s):  
G. Vacca ◽  
G. Furfaro ◽  
A. Dessì

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> The growing interest in recent years in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) by the scientific community, software developers, and geomatics professionals, has led these systems to be used more and more widely, in different fields of engineering and architecture. This is thanks, above all, to their flexibility of use and low cost compared to traditional photogrammetric flights using expensive metric digital cameras or LiDAR sensors. In recent years, UAVs have also been used in the field of monitoring and inspection of public or private buildings that are remarkable in terms of size and architecture. This is mainly due to the focus a sustainability and resource efficiency in the building and infrastructure sector, which aims to extend their lifetimes. Through the use of remote checking using UAVs, the monitoring and inspection of buildings can be brought to a new level of quality and saving.</p><p> This paper focuses on the processing and study of 3D models obtained from images captured by an UAV. In particular, the authors wanted to study the accuracy gains achieved in the building 3D model obtained with both nadir and oblique UAV flights. The images from the flights were processed using Structure-for Motion-based approach for point cloud generation using dense image-matching algorithms implemented in an open source software. We used the open source software VisualSfM, developed by Chanchang Wu in collaboration with the University of Washington and Google. The dense matching plug-in integrated in its interface, PMVS/CMVS, made by Yasutaka Furukawa, was employed to generate the dense cloud. The achieved results were compare with those gained by Photoscan software by Agisoft and with 3D model from the Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) survey.</p>


Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1981
Author(s):  
Juan Moyano ◽  
Juan E. Nieto-Julián ◽  
Daniel Antón ◽  
Elena Cabrera ◽  
David Bienvenido-Huertas ◽  
...  

The digitisation of architectural heritage has experienced a great development of low-cost and high-definition data capture technologies, thus enabling the accurate and effective modelling of complex heritage assets. Accordingly, research has identified the best methods to survey historic buildings, but the suitability of Structure-from-Motion/Multi-view-Stereo (SfM/MVS) for interior square symmetrical architectural spaces is unexplored. In contrast to the traditional SfM surveying for which the camera surrounds the object, the photograph collection approach is divergent in courtyards. This paper evaluates the accuracy of SfM point clouds against Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) for these large architectural spaces with a symmetrical configuration, with the main courtyard of Casa de Pilatos in Seville, Spain, as a case study. Two different SfM surveys were conducted: (1) Without control points, and (2) referenced using a total station. The first survey yielded unacceptable results: A standard deviation of 0.0576 m was achieved in the northwest sector of the case study, mainly because of the difficulty of aligning the SfM and TLS data due to the way they are produced. This value could be admissible depending on the purpose of the photogrammetric model.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Al Khalil

During the past few years, new developments have occurred in the field of 3D photogrammetric modeling of culture heritage. One of these developments is the expansion of 3D photogrammetric modeling open-source software, such as VisualSfM, and cost-effective licensed software, such as Agisoft Metashape into the practical and affordable world. This type of SfM (Structure from Motion) software offers the world of 3D modelling of culture heritage a powerful tool for documentation and visualization. On the other hand, low-cost cameras are now available on the market. These cameras are characterized by high resolution and good quality lens, which makes them suitable for photogrammetric modelling. This paper reports on the results of the application of a SfM photogrammetry system in the 3D modelling of Safita Tower, a medieval structure in Safita, north-western Syria. The applied photogrammetric system consists of the Nikon Coolpix P100 10 MP digital camera and the commercial software Agisoft Metashape. The resulted 3D point clouds were compared with an available dense point cloud acquired by a laser scanner. This comparison proved that the low-cost SfM photogrammetry is an accurate methodology to 3D modeling historical monuments. 


Author(s):  
V. Petras ◽  
A. Petrasova ◽  
J. Jeziorska ◽  
H. Mitasova

Today’s methods of acquiring Earth surface data, namely lidar and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery, non-selectively collect or generate large amounts of points. Point clouds from different sources vary in their properties such as number of returns, density, or quality. We present a set of tools with applications for different types of points clouds obtained by a lidar scanner, structure from motion technique (SfM), and a low-cost 3D scanner. To take advantage of the vertical structure of multiple return lidar point clouds, we demonstrate tools to process them using 3D raster techniques which allow, for example, the development of custom vegetation classification methods. Dense point clouds obtained from UAV imagery, often containing redundant points, can be decimated using various techniques before further processing. We implemented and compared several decimation techniques in regard to their performance and the final digital surface model (DSM). Finally, we will describe the processing of a point cloud from a low-cost 3D scanner, namely Microsoft Kinect, and its application for interaction with physical models. All the presented tools are open source and integrated in GRASS GIS, a multi-purpose open source GIS with remote sensing capabilities. The tools integrate with other open source projects, specifically Point Data Abstraction Library (PDAL), Point Cloud Library (PCL), and OpenKinect libfreenect2 library to benefit from the open source point cloud ecosystem. The implementation in GRASS GIS ensures long term maintenance and reproducibility by the scientific community but also by the original authors themselves.


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