Taking computer vision aloft—Archaeological three-dimensional reconstructions from aerial photographs with PhotoScan


Journal article


Geert J. Verhoeven
Archaeological Prospection, vol. 18, 2011, pp. 67-73


View PDF
Cite

Cite

APA   Click to copy
Verhoeven, G. J. (2011). Taking computer vision aloft—Archaeological three-dimensional reconstructions from aerial photographs with PhotoScan. Archaeological Prospection, 18, 67–73. https://doi.org/10.1002/arp.399


Chicago/Turabian   Click to copy
Verhoeven, Geert J. “Taking Computer Vision Aloft—Archaeological Three-Dimensional Reconstructions from Aerial Photographs with PhotoScan.” Archaeological Prospection 18 (2011): 67–73.


MLA   Click to copy
Verhoeven, Geert J. “Taking Computer Vision Aloft—Archaeological Three-Dimensional Reconstructions from Aerial Photographs with PhotoScan.” Archaeological Prospection, vol. 18, 2011, pp. 67–73, doi:10.1002/arp.399.


BibTeX   Click to copy

@article{verhoeven2011a,
  title = {Taking computer vision aloft—Archaeological three-dimensional reconstructions from aerial photographs with PhotoScan},
  year = {2011},
  journal = {Archaeological Prospection},
  pages = {67-73},
  volume = {18},
  doi = {10.1002/arp.399},
  author = {Verhoeven, Geert J.}
}

Abstract
Structure from motion (SFM) algorithms are known for their ability to reconstruct a sparse point cloud of scenes that were imaged by a series of overlapping photographs. When complemented by stereo-matching algorithms, detailed three-dimensional models can be built from such photograph collections in a fully automated way. Since 2010, a computer vision software package called PhotoScan has been available from the Russian manufacturer AgiSoft LLC. Even though the programme has a straightforward and simple interface, state-of-the-art SFM and other computer vision algorithms are implemented that enable PhotoScan to generate very dense and accurate three-dimensional meshes of various (archaeological) settings captured in two-dimensional imagery. Using a mixture of archaeological case studies, it will be shown that this low-cost application produces excellent results from aerial imagery in a minimum of time with almost no effort needed. Because of its solid and uncomplicated operation, it looks like this application could become an essential part of the aerial archaeologist's toolkit.