Drones and Real-Time Kinematic Base Station Integration for Documenting Inaccessible Ruins: A Case Study Approach

Ruins, marked by decay and abandonment, present challenges for digital documentation due to their varied conditions and remote locations. Surveying inaccessible ruins demands innovative approaches for safety and accuracy. Drones with high-resolution cameras enable the detailed aerial inspection and imaging of these inaccessible areas. This study investigated how surveying technologies, particularly Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), are used to document inaccessible ruins. Integration with Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) technologies allows direct georeferencing in photogrammetric processing. A case study of the Castle of Terracorpo in Italy was used to demonstrate UAV-only surveying feasibility in inaccessible environments, testing two different scenarios. The first scenario involved the use of a DJI Matrice 300 RTK coupled with the D-RTK2 base station to survey the Castle; both direct and indirect georeferencing were exploited and compared through the photogrammetric process. This first scenario confirmed that this approach can lead to a centimetre-level accuracy (about three times the GSD value for indirect georeferencing and seven times the GSD value for direct georeferencing exploting RTK). The second scenario testing the integration of data from drones at varying resolutions enabled the comprehensive coverage of ruinous structures. In this case, the photogrammetric survey performed with the dji Mavic 3 Cine drone (indirect georeferencing) was integrated with the photogrammetric survey performed with the dji Matrice 300 RTK drone (direct georeferencing). This scenario showed that GCPs extracted from a direct georeferencing photogrammetric survey could be successfully used to georeference and integrate other drone data. However, challenges persist in surveying underground or enclosed spaces that are inaccessible to UAVs. Future research will explore integrating robotic LiDAR survey systems and advanced data fusion techniques to enhance documentation

Mobile mapping system for historic built heritage and GIS integration: a challenging case study

Abstract To manage the historic built heritage, it is of fundamental importance to fully understand the urban area under study, so that all its characteristics and critical issues related to historical conformation, stratifcation, and transformations can be better understood and described. Geometric surveying allows a deeper investigation of these characteristics through analytical investigation in support of urban planning theories as well. To date, geomatics provides various tools and techniques to meet the above-mentioned needs, and mobile mapping system (MMS) is a technology that can survey large areas in a short time, with good results in terms of density, accuracy, and coverage of the data. In this context, the article aims to verify whether this approach can also be useful in the complex and stratifed reality of the historic urban context. The case analyzed—the historical center of Sabbioneta—presents some criticalities found in many urban centers of historical layout. Examples are narrow streets inserted in an urban context with multi-story buildings and consequent difculty in receiving the GNSS signal and difculty in following general MMS survey guidelines (trajectories with closed loops, wide radius curves). The analysis presented, relating to a survey carried out with Leica Pegasus:Two instrumentation, in addition to describing the strategies used to properly develop the survey, aims to analyze the resulting datum by discussing its possibilities for use in urban modeling, for cartographic or three-dimensional information modeling purposes. Particular attention is paid to assessing whether the quality of the data (accuracy, density) is suitable for the urban scale. Finally, an analysis of the data obtained from MMS was made with the geographic-topographic database (DBGT), in a GIS (Geographic Information System) environment, to check the possibilities of use and integration between the two models

the 3d model of st mark s basilica in venice

The San Marco 3D project had the ambitious goal of building a digital replica of the famous venetian basilica. Architectural surveying and modelling are very widespread procedures, but the complexity of the basilica, its decorative apparatus, in mosaic and marble, and its liveliness made this project a real challenge. Thanks to geomatics, from the most traditional topographic approach to cutting-edge methods of digital photogrammetry, it has been possible to build an information system of the basilica, a geometric database from which to continuously extract new and correct information. Even the mosaics, a main characteristic element of the basilica, have been documented through very high-resolution orthophotos, therefore providing useful and effective tools for the conservation of the basilica itself. Thus, the research project allowed for a better and deeper knowledge of the basilica, expressed through a very accurate 3D model where the geometry and the very rich decorative apparatus are merged into a single product

A multi-range approach for Cultural Heritage survey: a case study in Mantua Unesco site

In this paper, a Cultural Heritage survey, performed by employing and integrating different type of acquisition technologies (imagebased and active sensor based) is presented. The aim of the survey is to create a 3D multiscale database, therefore, different restitution scales, from the architectural-urban one to a detail one are taken in consideration. This research is part of a project financed by the Unesco for the study of historical gardens located in Mantua and Sabbioneta, and in particular for the Palazzo Te renaissance gardens in Mantua, which are reported in this paper. First of all, a general survey of the area has been realized by employing the classical aerial photogrammetry in order to provide the actual arboreal and urban furniture conditions of the gardens (1:500 scale). Next, a detailed photogrammetric survey of the Esedra courtyard in Palazzo Te has been performed by using a UAV system. At the end, laser scanning and traditional topography have been used for the terrestrial detailed acquisition of gardens and architectural façades (1:50???1:20 scale). The aim of this research is to create a suitable graphical documentation support for the study of the structure of the gardens, to analyze how they have been modified over the years and as an effective support for eventual future re-design. Moreover, the research has involved a certain number of botanic and archeological investigations, which have been duly acquired and modeled with image based systems. Starting from the acquired datasets with their acquisition scales, a series of comparative analysis have been performed, especially for those areas in which all the systems have been employed. The comparisons have been extracted by analyzing point cloud models obtained by using a topographical network. As a result, the multi-range approach efficiency, obtained by employing the actual available technologies have been illustrated in the present work

BIM: An Integrated Model for Planned and Preventive Maintenance of Architectural Heritage

Modern digital technologies give us great possibilities to organize knowledge about constructions, regarding multidisciplinary fields like preservation, conservation and valorization of our architectural heritage, in order to suggest restoration projects and related work, or to suppose a planned preventive maintenance. New procedures to archive, analyze and manage architectural information find a natural support in 3D model, thanks to the development of capacities of new modeling software. Moreover, if the model contains or interfaces with a heterogeneous archive of information, as it is for BIM, this model can be considered as the bases of critical studies, projects of restoration, heritage maintenance, integrated management, protection, and valorization, and evaluation of economic aspects, management and planning, that can flow into a planned preventive maintenance [1]. The aspect that limit the use of BIM technology is the set up parametric object library inside programs: the standardized level of these objects deals difficulty with survey and restoration issues, where each single element has its own historical and architectural characterization [2]. From this foreword, the goal of this research is more evident: the possibilities of using BIM modeling to the existing constructions and cultural heritage, as a support for the construction and management of a Plan for planned preventive maintenance

PARAMETRIC PARADIGMA: EXCEPTIONAL COFFERED CEILING ARCHITECTURE VS HBIM

The scientific community is confirming the advantages of using BIM in the processes of conservation, management, and intervention over architectural-historical heritage. However, many difficulties remain in the transcription process of elements of the built environment, especially when the objective of the model is to support decision-making processes in restoration operations. Even for apparently simple elements, the procedures are not trivial; the need to define the most adequate operational strategies remains. In the context of this study, a possible approach concerning the documentation of a coffered ceiling has been proposed, a case study which takes into consideration the need to discretize information (to make it effective, transmissible, and understandable) and the potential offered by the combined use of further software automatization

The bust o Francesco II Gonzaga: from digital documentation to 3d printing

Geomatics technics and methods are now able to provide a great contribution to the Cultural Heritage (CH) processes, being adaptable to different purposes: management, diagnosis, restoration, protection, study and research, communication, formation and fruition of the Cultural Heritage. This experimentation was done with an eye to encouraging and promoting the development of principles and good practices for recording, documentation and information management of cultural heritage This research focuses on the documentation path of a cultural asset, in particular a Renaissance statue, aimed to achieve a three dimensional model useful for many digital applications and for solid reproduction. The digital copy can be used in many contexts and represents an efficient tool to preserve and promote CH. It can be included in virtual museum archives and catalogues, shared on network with cultural operators and users, and it permits the contextualization of the asset in its artistic and historical background. Moreover, the possibility to obtain a hard copy, reproduced through 3D printing, allows to reach new opportunities of interaction with CH. In this article, two techniques for the digitization of the terracotta bust of Francesco II Gonzaga, in the City Museum of Mantua, are described: the triangulation scanner and dense image matching photogrammetry. As well as the description of the acquisition and the elaborations, other aspects are taken into account: the characteristics of the object, the place for the acquisition, the ultimate goal and the economic availability. There are also highlighted the optimization pipeline to get the correct three-dimensional models and a 3D printed copy. A separate section discusses the comparison of the realized model to identify the positive and negative aspects of each adopted application

3D survey technologies: Investigations on accuracy and usability in archaeology. The case study of the new "Municipio" underground station in Naples

Advanced 3D survey technologies, such as Digital Photogrammetry (imaged based) and Laser Scanner, are nowadays widely used in Cultural Heritage and Archaeological fields. The present paper describes the investigations realized by the Laboratory Hesutech of the Polytechnic of Milan in cooperation with the Superintendence Archaeology Campania in order to examine the potentiality of Image Based Modeling (IBM) systems applied to the archaeological field for advanced documentation purposes. Besides the 3D model production workflow in an uncommon excavation environment, a special consideration about the reached accuracy will be discussed. In the first part of the research, a comparison between photogrammetric camera parameters obtained with IBM systems and the ones provided with the calibration certificate by the manufacturer of the camera is performed. In the second part of the research, the operational phases of the application of such advanced 3D survey technologies are shown. The test field is the archaeological excavation area for the construction of the new "Municipio" underground station in Naples. Due to its position in one of the historical area of the city, its construction coexists with the archaeological excavations and it is strictly tied to their evolution. In such conditions, the need to reduce as much as possible the time to build the public infrastructure is a very relevant feature together with the ability to produce accurate documentation of what is considered archaeologically important