A Photogrammetry-Based Workflow for the Accurate 3D Construction and Visualization of Museums Assets

Fabrizio Ivan Apollonio,Filippo Fantini,Simone Garagnani,Marco Gaiani

doi:10.3390/rs13030486

Abstract

Nowadays digital replicas of artefacts belonging to the Cultural Heritage (CH) are one of the most promising innovations for museums exhibitions, since they foster new forms of interaction with collections, at different scales. However, practical digitization is still a complex task dedicated to specialized operators. Due to these premises, this paper introduces a novel approach to support non-experts working in museums with robust, easy-to-use workflows based on low-cost widespread devices, aimed at the study, classification, preservation, communication and restoration of CH artefacts. The proposed methodology introduces an automated combination of acquisition, based on mobile equipment and visualization, based on Real-Time Rendering. After the description of devices used along the workflow, the paper focuses on image pre-processing and geometry processing techniques adopted to generate accurate 3D models from photographs. Assessment criteria for the developed process evaluation are illustrated. Tests of the methodology on some effective museum case studies are presented and discussed.

Highlights

Introduction for the Accurate3D ConstructionThe data provided by Negri and Marini [1] on the growth of the number of museums in the world over the last 50 years highlighted the importance of the Cultural Heritage (CH) they preserve
Lockdowns, which forced the closure of museums as well as many other activities, did not prevent the world of culture from finding alternative ways to guarantee the use of its CH, exploiting the possibilities offered by digital tools
The complex relation established between digital replicas and real artefacts encourages new thinking categories, different and more powerful than those traditionally adopted in exhibition design for museums

Summary

Introduction

Introduction for the Accurate3D ConstructionThe data provided by Negri and Marini [1] on the growth of the number of museums in the world over the last 50 years highlighted the importance of the Cultural Heritage (CH) they preserve. A faithful digital surrogate is a powerful support for the extremely complex activities of preservation and restoration of CH goods. They involve the expertise of many professional figures (restorers, architects/engineers, art historians, chemists, photographers), who produce a massive amount of documentation. With the advent of high-resolution mobile-phone cameras in the 2010s, digital cameras on smartphones started to be used as imaging tools in photogrammetric tasks [21]. These devices are very different from SLR cameras. Smartphones implement additional sensors–accelerometer and gyroscope–promising further possibilities to 3D reconstructions [23]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion