Abstract
Abstract. During the last few years, there has been a growing exploitation of consumer-grade cameras allowing one to capture 360° images. Each device has different features and the choice should be entrusted on the use and the expected final output. The interest on such technology within the research community is related to its use versatility, enabling the user to capture the world with an omnidirectional view with just one shot. The potential is huge and the literature presents many use cases in several research domains, spanning from retail to construction, from tourism to immersive virtual reality solutions. However, the domain that could the most benefit is Cultural Heritage (CH), since these sensors are particularly suitable for documenting a real scene with architectural detail. Following the previous researches conducted by Fangi, which introduced its own methodology called Spherical Photogrammetry (SP), the aim of this paper is to present some tests conducted with the omni-camera Panono 360° which reach a final resolution comparable with a traditional camera and to validate, after almost ten years from the first experiment, its reliability for architectural surveying purposes. Tests have been conducted choosing as study cases Santa Maria della Piazza and San Francesco alle scale Churches in Ancona, Italy, since they were previously surveyed and documented with SP methodology. In this way, it has been possible to validate the accuracy of the new survey, performed by means an omni-camera, compared with the previous one for both outdoor and indoor scenario. The core idea behind this work is to validate if this new sensor can replace the standard image collection phase, speeding up the process, assuring at the same time the final accuracy of the survey. The experiment conducted demonstrate that, w.r.t. the SP methodology developed so far, the main advantage in using 360° omni-directional cameras lies on increasing the rapidity of acquisition and panorama creation phases. Moreover, in order to foresee the implications that a wide adoption of fast and agile tools of acquisition could bring within the CH domain, points cloud have been generated with the same panoramas and visualized in a WEB application, to allow a result dissemination between the users.
Highlights
Spherical Photogrammetry (SP), introduced by Fangi more than one decade ago (Fangi, 2007), (Fangi, 2010), (Fangi, 2011) proved to be still a powerful photogrammetric technique to be used for Architectural Heritage (AH) surveys and documentation
This method is appropriate when dealing with well-defined objects that can be reconstructed in the basic geometries on distinct planes; dealing with complex shapes and surfaces that can not be represented with well defined objects, the approximation for finite elements shall be replaced with more complex meshes
The research experiments described in this article are promising
Summary
Spherical Photogrammetry (SP), introduced by Fangi more than one decade ago (Fangi, 2007), (Fangi, 2010), (Fangi, 2011) proved to be still a powerful photogrammetric technique to be used for Architectural Heritage (AH) surveys and documentation. It allows one to collect priceless images that, once transformed into panoramas, enable the surveyor to re-built the geometries of a building with a “point by point” plotting. This is not trivial, since, weather in case of complex shapes (like sculptures, decorations, mouldings and so on) points clouds are the winning solution, on the contrary, for the representation of more simple geometries (e.g. the facades of a Roman Church), a “point by point” plotting is preferable. The collection of panoramic images of ancient sites might represent a valuable source of documentation in such cases where, due to the war or natural hazards, architectures are seriously damaged or even lost (dAnnibale et al, 2011), (Fangi, 2015). During the last few years there has been a grow-
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
