3D Thermal Imaging System with Decoupled Acquisition for Industrial and Cultural Heritage Applications

Abstract

Three-dimensional thermography is a recent technique—with various fields of application—that consists of combining thermography with 3D spatial data in order to obtain 3D thermograms, high information objects that allow one to overcome some limitations of 2D thermograms, to enhance the thermal monitoring and the detection of abnormalities. In this paper we present an integration methodology that can be applied to merge data acquired from a generic thermal camera and a generic laser scanner, and has the peculiarity of keeping the two devices completely decoupled and independent, so that thermal and geometrical data can be acquired at different times and no rigid link is needed between the two devices. In this way, the stand-alone capability of each device is not affected, and the data fusion is applied only when necessary. In the second part, the real effectiveness of our approach is tested on a 3D-printed object properly designed. Furthermore, one example of an application of our methodology in the cultural heritage field is presented, with an eye to preservation and restoration: the integration is applied to a marble statue called Madonna with the Child, a fine work of the Florentine sculptor Agostino di Duccio (1418–1481). The results suggest that the method can be successfully applicable to a large set of scenarios. However, additional tests are needed to improve the robustness.

Mining Exploration with UAV, Low-Cost Thermal Cameras and GIS Tools—Application to the Specific Case of the Complex Sulfides Hosted in Carbonates of Udías (Cantabria, Spain)

“…Regarding the generation of thermal models, some authors have tried to classify the methodologies into categories [46][47][48]. However, when starting from thermal images, the methods can be divided into only three main categories: thermal 2D-image modeling [49], thermal image mapping in existing 3D models [50,51] and a combination of RGB and thermal images [52][53][54].…”

Correlation of Vulnerability and Conservation Between Artistic Assets and Structural Elements: Campaign of Thermographic Surveys on the Frescoes of the Templar Church of San Bevignate

“…The role of the latter approach in detection and qualification of deficiencies/discontinuities in the stonework is an important aspect [21,22,23,24]. Through the analysis of another part of the same wall, located near the apse and in the proximity of a window, it was possible to discover the presence of a blind opening in the original masonry, which now is totally bricked up (Figure 10).…”

Combining InfraRed Thermography and UAV Digital Photogrammetry for the Protection and Conservation of Rupestrian Cultural Heritage Sites in Georgia: A Methodological Application

“…IRT, given the portability and the fast acquisition and processing times of thermographic data, can be profitably applied for mapping criticalities in the field of tangible CH conservation [76][77][78]. In Vardzia the obtained ST maps allowed to map the moisture sectors in correspondence to the large sub-vertical open fractures orthogonal to the valley, and where the main streams cut the whole breccia level.…”