SR-4000 and CamCube3.0 Time of Flight (ToF) Cameras: Tests and Comparison

In this paper experimental comparisons between two Time-of-Flight (ToF) cameras are reported in order to test their performance and to give some procedures for testing data delivered by this kind of technology. In particular, the SR-4000 camera by Mesa Imaging AG and the CamCube3.0 by PMD Technologies have been evaluated since they have good performances and are well known to researchers dealing with Time-of- Flight (ToF) cameras. After a brief overview of commercial ToF cameras available on the market and the main specifications of the tested devices, two topics are presented in this paper. First, the influence of camera warm-up on distance measurement is analyzed: a warm-up of 40 minutes is suggested to obtain the measurement stability, especially in the case of the CamCube3.0 camera, that exhibits distance measurement variations of several centimeters. Secondly, the variation of distance measurement precision variation over integration time is presented: distance measurement precisions of some millimeters are obtained in both cases. Finally, a comparison between the two cameras based on the experiments and some information about future work on evaluation of sunlight influence on distance measurements are reporte

Geomatics tools to record 3D shapes for intervention planning

The paper offers a state of art of Geomatics tools that it is possible to use after a natural and/or human disaster on urban centers or natural landscapes to record the 3D shape. This knowledge is important both for first aid initiatives devoted to safeguard human lives and for support decision on first technical interventions. The same data, if correctly recorded, are the basic step to plan recovering actions and reconstruction strategies. The high automation level of the metric survey techniques open unsolved questions about the correct use of automatic tools both to acquire primary data and the appropriate management of them to give affordable and accurate metric information to the specialists. Image based technologies (e.g. 3D photogrammetry, SFM) and range based instruments (e.g. terrestrial and aerial laser scanning systems) are analyzed in terms of best rules to acquire the necessary primary data by highlighting the most common mistakes that automation approach could generate; the same analysis is developed for the software used to manage those primary data where automation processing are in many cases not well understood. A more skilled use of primary data acquisition instruments and management software will allow a better quality of the resulting 3D models also considering the real needs in the different phases of the emergency after disasters

The "O. Wagner Pavillon Test" and the "RecorDIM Initiative": Two actions to fit CIPA-HD’s goals

The contribution describes the outcomes of the CIPA-HD activities in the fields of photogrammetric survey and documentation of Cultural heritage assets in the occasion of the 50 years of CIPA-H

GIS and Land History: the documentation of the ancient Aosta Dukedom

GIS technology has been recognised as one of the best instruments able to join and relate data coming from different disciplines involved in a documentation process of Cultural Heritage objects. The RecorDIM (Recording, Documentation and Information Management) project defined some general rules to be followed when GIS technology is used to share documentation results among all the possible users (e.g. conservators, restorers, land planners, etc.). The aim of the paper is to show a real application of the proposed rules inside an Interreg III-A (community initiative seeking to favour the harmonious and even development of European territory by encouraging cross-border cooperation) ALCOTRA (Alpi Latine COoperazione TRAnsfrontaliera) project managed by the Italian Valle d'Aosta Region. The Valle d'Aosta Region assigned to the Politecnico di Torino research group (teachers of the High School on Cultural Heritage and Landscape) the goal of placing the results of the archaeological and historical investigations inside a not structured GIS files. This particular approach will allow the integration of the collected data in the regional GIS used for land planning and land risk assessment. This approach required a planning of the recording strategies adopted by the different specialists involved in the project and the structuring of the collected data in a way that could allow the dissemination of the results among all the land planners at every scale (from regional scale up to urban scale). The proposed approach will allow an easy and direct access to the results of historical and archaeological investigations to the specialists involved in the plan of future landscapes and land uses

Documenting the State of Preservation of Historical Stone Sculptures in Three Dimensions with Digital Tools

Protection of stone heritage requires detailed records of the state-of-preservation to ensure accurate decision-making for conservation interven-tions. This short paper explores the topic of using digital tools to better visual-ize and map in three-dimensional (3D) representations the deterioration state of stone statues. Technical photography, geomatics techniques, and 3D visualiza-tion approaches are combined to propose reproducible and adaptable solutions that can support the investigation of historical materials' degradation. The short paper reports on the application of these multi-technique approaches regarding a bust sculpture from the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo (Italy)

UAS-Based Archaeological Remote Sensing: Review, Meta-Analysis and State-of-the-Art

Over the last decade, we have witnessed momentous technological developments in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and in lightweight sensors operating at various wavelengths, at and beyond the visible spectrum, which can be integrated with unmanned aerial platforms. These innovations have made feasible close-range and high-resolution remote sensing for numerous archaeological applications, including documentation, prospection, and monitoring bridging the gap between satellite, high-altitude airborne, and terrestrial sensing of historical sites and landscapes. In this article, we track the progress made so far, by systematically reviewing the literature relevant to the combined use of UAS platforms with visible, infrared, multi-spectral, hyper-spectral, laser, and radar sensors to reveal archaeological features otherwise invisible to archaeologists with applied non-destructive techniques. We review, specific applications and their global distribution, as well as commonly used platforms, sensors, and data-processing workflows. Furthermore, we identify the contemporary state-of-the-art and discuss the challenges that have already been overcome, and those that have not, to propose suggestions for future research