Abstract
Abstract. The aim of this work is to study the value and potential of UAV technology as an instrument for documenting and analyzing a heritage site on both the detailed scale and the wider territorial scale. In particular, this paper will focus on the application of an UAV platform on the archeological site of Isola Comacina (Comacina Island), in the Lago di Como (Lake Como, Lombardy, Northern Italy). The work considers the advantages of different metric scales and the use of both RGB and thermal imagery, along with other terrestrial data (total station measurements and laser scans), in order to arrive at a working heritage information model. In particular, the archaeological remains on Isola Comacina have been intensively studied before by standard techniques but unfortunately no wider context is provided. A part of the research is the investigation of new methodologies offered by accurate geometric reconstructions combined with thermal imagery acquired by means of UAV platforms, e.g. the support of this type of imagery to discover rock formations partially buried.
Highlights
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been introduced successfully in different projects in the archaeological field and in the heritage sector
This paper will focus on the application of an UAV platform (Falcon 8) on Isola Comacina in the Lago di Como (Italy)
The work presented in this paper is only the first step towards a complex project including digital documentation and metric information for the whole archaeological site of Isola Comacina
Summary
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been introduced successfully in different projects in the archaeological field and in the heritage sector. Particular attention is paid to the creation of three-dimensional models or more advanced BIM systems in order to obtain a comprehensive management structure and perform further analysis (e.g. the derivation of two-dimensional drawings and plans, vertical sections, etc., queries or the remote exploration of archaeological sites) For these reasons, the geometric survey is gradually passing from traditional methods, mainly based on direct surveying, to new acquisition techniques allowing integration of multiple data sources. Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and Close-range Photogrammetry, along with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) images are becoming more important for the rapid and accurate documentation of archaeological area and the availability of new processing algorithms. The applied surveying techniques, data processing and the preliminary results are discussed
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