3D Surveying and Cultural Heritage

Researchers working at the intersection of geology and cultural heritage use tools like terrestrial laser scanning, drone-based photogrammetry, and Structure from Motion algorithms to build precise three-dimensional models of rock formations, archaeological sites, and historic structures from overlapping photographs or sensor measurements. The resulting point clouds and digital reconstructions serve both scientific analysis—mapping erosion, fault geometry, or stratigraphic detail—and the long-term preservation of sites that are vulnerable to decay, conflict, or environmental change. Active work is pushing toward faster, more automated pipelines that can handle the scale and complexity of large outdoor environments without sacrificing geometric accuracy. Open questions include how to best integrate data from multiple sensor types into unified models and how to make high-fidelity digital records genuinely accessible and useful to communities beyond the research teams that produce them.

Works

132,133

Total citations

645,698

Keywords

PhotogrammetryUAVTerrestrial Laser ScanningStructure from MotionGeospatial ApplicationsDigital Heritage