Pre- and Self-calibration of underwater cameras for photogrammetric documentation of archaeological sites

Underwater photogrammetry has become one of the most affordable and adopted methods for the documentation and the 3D reconstruction of submerged archaeological assets. In digital photogrammetry, images are captured to exploit (using computer vision-based procedures) their intrinsic metric contents. To preserve the metric consistency and to obtain reliable 3D metric products, this process must be followed according to photogrammetric principles that are even more important in underwater photogrammetry. The wide diffusion of low-cost and non-metric sensors requires that some attention be given to proper geometric calibration of the employed cameras. Via calibration, it is possible to opportunely describe geometric distortions that are observable on final images due to lens shapes and construction characteristics of the cameras and the optics used in the survey operations. This research addresses the importance of pre-calibration in underwater cameras, and for this purpose, three calibration datasets are acquired and compared: the first (A) where the camera is pre-calibrated without any addition (flat or dome ports); the second (B) in which the camera is used in combination with a dome port; and the third (C) where the camera setup has been employed in an underwater environment. For both scenarios (dry and wet), self-calibration and pre-calibration procedures are compared. Moreover, is possible to notice how the use of the right camera and lens combinations, specifically designed for underwater survey purposes, are functional to lower the distortion of the images and consequently improve the accuracy of the final 3D products. Different tests have been performed, and preliminary results are presented and discussed in this work-in-progress paper

CREACIÓN DE IMÁGENES Y VISUALIZACIÓN DE SANTUARIOS MAYAS EN CUEVAS DEL NORTE DE QUINTANA ROO, MÉXICO

[EN] Innovative imaging and visualization techniques allow for the capture and display of features or objects within their broader spatial contexts. With respect to Maya cave architecture, high-resolution panoramic visualization and the production of 3D models can be powerful analytical tools, enabling the evaluation of potentially meaningful relationships between natural features and constructed features within a cave. A collaboration between the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) in Quintana Roo and the University of California, San Diego involves a study of at-risk cave shrines. Initial comparative and multiscalar analyses across terrestrial and subterranean environments provide insight into the form, function, and meaning of Postclassic cave architecture in the northeastern Maya lowlands.[ES] Innovadoras técnicas de captación, creación de imágenes y visualización permiten la captura y exposición de entidades u objetos dentro de sus contextos espaciales. En cuanto a la arquitectura maya en cuevas, las panorámicas de gran resolución y la creación de modelos 3D se convierten en potentes herramientas de visualización y análisis que permiten la evaluación de potencialmente significantes relaciones entre las características naturales y construcciones humanas dentro de las mismas. Una nueva colaboración entre el Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) en Quintana Roo y la Universidad de California en San Diego contempla estudiar santuarios rupestres en riesgo. El análisis inicial a través de los entornos terrestres y subterráneos proporciona información sobre la forma, función y significado de la arquitectura postclásica maya en cuevas de las tierras bajas del noreste Maya.Rissolo, D.; Hess, M.; Hoff, A.; Meyer, D.; Amador, F.; Velazquez Morlet, A.; Petrovic, V.... (2016). IMAGING AND VISUALIZING MAYA CAVE SHRINES IN NORTHERN QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO. En 8th International congress on archaeology, computer graphics, cultural heritage and innovation. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 382-384. https://doi.org/10.4995/arqueologica8.2015.3701OCS38238

Teaching BIM: a comparison between actual and future perspectives

Building Information Modeling BIM in AEC education is a promising teaching strategy. The aim of the European project BENEDICT is to analyze teaching approaches to Building Information Modeling (BIM) for the construction industry. The goal of this research is therefore to perform an exhaustive analysis on the methods of transmission of BIM awareness and education in some American universities with the aim of comparing them with the BENEDICT approach developed in Italian, Estonian and Finnish Universities. Therefore, a teaching plan that aims to standardize and unify relevant teaching programs, tools and methods is developed, tackling existing skill gaps and mismatches between academia and industry

Developing an interoperable cloud-based visualization workflow for 3D archaeological heritage data. The Palenque 3D Archaeological Atlas

In archaeology, 3D data has become ubiquitous, as researchers routinely capture high resolution photogrammetry and LiDAR models and engage in laborious 3D analysis and reconstruction projects at every scale: artifacts, buildings, and entire sites. The raw data and processed 3D models are rarely shared as their computational dependencies leave them unusable by other scholars. In this paper we outline a novel approach for cloud-based collaboration, visualization, analysis, contextualization, and archiving of multi-modal giga-resolution archaeological heritage 3D data. The Palenque 3D Archaeological Atlas builds on an open source WebGL systems that efficiently interlink, merge, present, and contextualize the Big Data collected at the ancient Maya city of Palenque, Mexico, allowing researchers and stakeholders to visualize, access, share, measure, compare, annotate, and repurpose massive complex archaeological datasets from their web-browsers

In the Realm of Rain Gods: A Contextual Survey of Rock Art across the Northern Maya Lowlands

settingsOrder Article Reprints Open AccessArticle In the Realm of Rain Gods: A Contextual Survey of Rock Art across the Northern Maya Lowlands by Dominique Rissolo Cultural Heritage Engineering Initiative, Qualcomm Institute, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA Heritage 2020, 3(4), 1094-1108; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage3040061 Received: 30 August 2020 / Revised: 17 September 2020 / Accepted: 21 September 2020 / Published: 27 September 2020 (This article belongs to the Section Archaeological Heritage) Downloadkeyboard_arrow_down Browse Figures Versions Notes Abstract Regional rock art studies have provided insight into the role of caves in Maya ideology and worldview. In addition to the content of the imagery itself, the placement or siting of rock art with respect to natural and cultural features within the cave environment can reveal much about the function and meaning of cave use practices. This comparative analysis of rock art emphasizes contextual considerations with a discussion on the spatial and symbolic relationships between images in individual caves. Rock art in the northern Maya lowlands is commonly associated with watery areas and pathways leading to pools in caves. Across the northern Yucatan Peninsula, watery caves witnessed the rites and rituals of religious practitioners who appealed to the rain gods. Rock art scenes throughout this region were often devised and positioned in ways that reveal or are consistent with this unique and pervasive emphasis on rain and agricultural fertility in religious practice