Abstract
Augmented reality (AR), in conjunction with 3D geovisualization methods, can provide significant support in monitoring geoconservation activities in protected geosites, such as the excavation process in fossil sites. The excavation process requires a monitoring methodology that will provide a complete and accurate overview of the fossils, their dimensions, and location within the different pyroclastic horizons, and the progress of the excavation works. The main purpose of this paper is the development of a user-friendly augmented map application, specifically designed for tracking the position of petrified tree trunks, providing information for their geometric features, and mapping the spatiotemporal changes occurring in the surrounding space. It also aims to probe whether the rapid acquisition of a 4K video can generate cartographic derivatives of petrified findings during a geosite excavation. A database accumulated 2D and 3D cartographic information, while the geovisualization environment displayed the surface alterations, at two scales: a) 1:500 (excavation area) and b) 1:50 (trench level). Unmanned aerial systems (UASs), used for data acquisition in three excavation periods, consisted of two flights at two different altitudes: one to record changes throughout the study area and the other to provide information on trunks at trench level, via a high-resolution (4K) video. Image-based 3D modeling followed, in which image georeferencing was conducted with ground control points (GCPs). Finally, 2D and 3D geovisualizations were created to depict the excavation changes through time. The cartographic products generated at two cartographic scales depicted the spatiotemporal changes of the excavation.
Highlights
Three-dimensional cartography is a combination of science, aesthetics, and technical knowledge and activities related to all stages of building 3D maps, such as data collection, production and distribution processes, fundamental technologies and algorithms, and the final context of application [1]
Visualization in various areas, such as the study and preservation of cultural heritage, in addition to visualization and dissemination of this information over the Internet [4]. Another development that has enhanced the science of photogrammetry and the data acquisition process is the appearance of unmanned aerial systems (UASs)
The most common applications of UASs pertain to the acquisition and processing of aerial photography using photogrammetric methods for making orthophotomaps, digital surface models (DSMs), and 3D models [6]
Summary
Three-dimensional cartography is a combination of science, aesthetics, and technical knowledge and activities related to all stages of building 3D maps, such as data collection, production and distribution processes, fundamental technologies and algorithms, and the final context of application [1] Digital tools, such as geographic information systems (GIS) and augmented reality (AR), have played an important role in developing new methods of processing and visualizing spatial information, in addition to evaluating and mapping them, enabling the growth of new ways of highlighting and preserving geoheritage. Good practices have been observed regarding 3D visualization in various areas, such as the study and preservation of cultural heritage, in addition to visualization and dissemination of this information over the Internet [4] Another development that has enhanced the science of photogrammetry and the data acquisition process is the appearance of unmanned aerial systems (UASs). The combination of augmented maps, composited from both scales, creates a useful application for excavation monitoring or visualizing petrified tree trunk features
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