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Ch 5 3D Imaging

Gabriel Bodard edited this page Feb 13, 2023 · 9 revisions

SunoikisisDC Digital Approaches to Cultural Heritage, Spring 2023

Session 5: 3D Imaging and Scanning

Thursday February 16, 2023, starting at 16:00 GMT = 17:00 CET (for 90 minutes)

Convenors: Gabriel Bodard (University of London), Alicia Walsh (University of Amsterdam/Recollection Heritage)

Youtube link: CANCELLED

Slides: tba

Outline

This session, the first of three on 3D technologies, introduces concepts and methods in 3D imaging, that is the production of a digital 3D model of an extant object via scanning, photographing, or otherwise accurately capturing the surface, geometry or volume of the original object. Case studies for the use of 3D imaging in archaeology and cultural heritage are presented, and students are offered a tutorial on the use of photogrametry: the generation of a 3D image from dozens of 2D photographs of a single object.

Seminar readings

  1. Davide Tanasi, Ilenia Gradante & Stephan Hassam. 2019. "Best Practices for 3D Digital Recording and Global Sharing of Catacombs from Late Roman Sicily." Studies in Digital Heritage 3.1. Pp. 60.82. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.14434/sdh.v3i1.25290
  2. Anca Timofan et al (2019). "PANTHEON 3D: An Initiative in the Three-Dimensional Digitization of Romanian Cultural Heritage." Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Digitalia 63.2, pp. 65-83. Available: https://digihubb.centre.ubbcluj.ro/journal/index.php/digitalia/article/view/52

Further reading

Other resources

Exercise

  1. Install Agisoft Metashape on your computer, and request a free 30-day trial license. (NB the trial license is for the professional version, not the standard.)
  2. Choose an object you would like to 3D image—for the purpose of this exercise it can be a heritage object or monument you have access to, or a replica, toy or other suitable object you have at home. Following the suggestions in the live session or the photogrammetry tutorials linked above, use your camera or smartphone to take as many photos as you need to capture the entire surface of the object in overlapping shots.
  3. Transfer the photographs to your computer, making sure to use a compatible file format such as JPEG (not e.g. the iOS-only HEIF format). Discard any images that are out of focus, over-exposed, or otherwise inadequate. If you are not left with enough photos, you may want to take some more.
  4. Import your images to Metashape, and follow the Metashape walkthrough video to process your photos to a 3D model. You may need to use the lowest quality for the first pass, but can increase to medium (which will take longer, especially on a laptop) if you want sharper results.
  5. Save your project progress after each step, and export your 3D model into a format such as STL or Collada that you can use elsewhere, as we will come back to this in future seminars.
  6. Bring your 3D model along to show in class, and discuss difficulties faced and lessons learned. Think about what metadata you would like to attach to this model?