Technology

Topics:

• Surveying
• Remote Sensing
• Panoramic Photography
• Laser Scanning
• Kite Photography
• HDR Photography
• HDD Survey
• GPS Surveying
• Digital Video

HDD Survey

For most endangered World Heritage Sites, the first tool required for preservation and restoration is a reliable, accurate site survey. High Definition Documentation and Survey (HDDS) technologies provide 3D survey data that is more accurate and more economically produced, than information from surveys using traditional techniques. HDS data can easily be converted to CAD and other imaging programs.

High Definition Survey technologies are the latest development in survey documentation and recording. HDS technologies employ laser beams that scan a subject, creating in seconds, a cloud of accurately measured points. This raw set of data, known as a "point cloud," contains literally millions of measurements, accurate to millimeters, with each point precisely referenced with x,y,z coordinates relative to all other point locations. The point cloud can be viewed immediately upon scanning, providing the immediate visualization of the data as a 3D image. By mapping and wrapping the points, an accurate 3D model can be created.

HDS technologies can be employed to document and record a large variety and scale of objects, structures, buildings, and topographies; literally from a small exquisitely detailed sculpture to a large geo-referenced landscape. Commercially, HDS has been found to be very effective in the documentation of structures such as oil and chemical refineries, highways, bridges and other complex structures, producing accurate "as-built" measured drawings in very little time and with very little expense, compared to traditional methods. Immediately upon scanning, the point cloud can be used directly to visualize the subject and to accurately access measurements. In addition, the point cloud data can be processed through various software applications to create a variety of deliverables such as CAD document measured drawings, contour maps, 3D models, and animations.

For more information on the use of this technology in heritage documentation and Digital Preservation, please see the following articles in our Knowledgebase:

Heritage 3D Case Studies
'Big Data'
3D Laser Scanning for Heritage
Caltrans Standards and Specifications

References

• Addison, A.C. 2000. Emerging trends in virtual heritage, Multimedia IEEE, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, Apr-Jun 2000 Page(s): 22-25.
• Addison, A.C.; Gaiani, M. 2000. Virtualized architectural heritage: new tools and techniques, Multimedia IEEE, Volume: 7 Issue: 2 , Apr-Jun 2000, Page(s): 26-31.
• Sternberg, H., T. Kersten, I. Jahn, and R. Kinzel. "Terrestrial 3D Laser Scanning - Data Acquisition and Object Modelling for Industrial As-Built Documentation and Architectural Applications." The International Archives of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. Vol XXXV, Commission VII, Part B2. 2004. 942-947.
• Frei, E., J. Kung and R. Bukowski. "High-Definition Surveying (HDS): A New Era in Reality Capture." International Archives of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, and Spatial Information Sciences, Vol XXXVI - 8/W2.