Mobile LiDAR System: New Possibilities for the Documentation and Dissemination of Large Cultural Heritage Sites

Abstract

Abstract:Mobile LiDAR System is an emerging technology that combines multiple sensors. Active sensors, together with Inertial and Global Navigation System, are synchronized on a mobile platform to produce an accurate and precise geospatial 3D point cloud. They allow obtaining a large amount of georeferenced 3D information in a fast and efficient way, which can be used in several applications such as the 3D recording and reconstruction of complex urban areas and/or landscapes. In this study the Mobile LiDAR System is applied in the field of Cultural Heritage aiming to evaluate its performance with the purpose to document, divulgate, or to develop an architectural analysis. This study was focused on the Medieval Wall of Avila (Spain) and, specifically, the performed accuracy tests were applied in the "Alcazar" gate (National Monument from 1884). The Mobile LiDAR System is then compared to the most commonly employed active sensors (Terrestrial Laser Scanner) for large Cultural Heritage sites in regard to time, accuracy and resolution of the point cloud. The discrepancies between both technologies are established comparing directly the 3D point clouds generated, highlighting the errors affecting the architectural structures. Consequently, and based on a detailed geometrical analysis, an optimization methodology is proposed, establishing a segmented and classified cluster for the structures. Furthermore, three main clusters are settled, according to the curvature: (i) planar or low curvature; (ii) cylindrical, mild transitions and medium curvature; and (iii) the abrupt transitions of high curvature. The obtained 3D point clouds in each cluster are analyzed and optimized, considering the reference spatial sampling, according to a confidence interval and the feature curvature. The presented results suggest that Mobile LiDAR System is an optimal approach, allowing a high-speed data acquisition and providing an adequate accuracy for large Cultural Heritage sites.

Procedural Modeling of Buildings Composed of Arbitrarily-Shaped Floor-Plans: Background, Progress, Contributions and Challenges of a Methodology Oriented to Cultural Heritage

“…There is also a review available addressing the application of laser scanning in cave surveying [53], in which several contributions for archeology/cultural heritage were highlighted. Rodríguez-Gonzàlvez et al [54] proposed a mobile LIDAR system that combines multiple sensors-active sensors, inertial, and global navigation system-to survey archeological sites rapidly and produce geospatial 3D point clouds accurately. The Medieval Wall of Avila (Spain) was used as a case-study.…”

High Definition 3D Map Creation Using GNSS/IMU/LiDAR Sensor Integration to Support Autonomous Vehicle Navigation

“…A broad spectrum of various grade imaging/mapping and navigation sensors are used in mobile mapping systems [44][45][46] and autonomous vehicles technologies [47][48][49]. In particular, the second application is experiencing an explosive growth recently, and the problem is generally posed as how to select the minimum number of inexpensive sensors to achieve the required level of positioning accuracy and robustness of vehicle navigation in real time, as an important aspect is the affordability, e.g., AVs need to be competitive in pricing to regular stock vehicles.…”

Hybrid 3D Models: When Geomatics Innovations Meet Extensive Built Heritage Complexes

“…Another type of laser-based sensor is the ZEB Revo Real Time (RT) by GeoSLAM ( Figure 4); contrary to the motionless TLS system, it is a portable MMS working with a Hokuyo UTM-30LX-F scanner technology and using the SLAM algorithm and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) [33]. This type of sensor is promising because of its 'go-anywhere' definition and that it is currently already quite investigated in the literature [2,17,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42].…”