A low-cost automatic acquisition system for photogrammetry

Photogrammetry is a non-destructive technique commonly employed in the cultural heritage field for reconstructing a 3D virtual replica of an artifact by simply taking several photos of the artifact itself from different points of view. The 3D model can be used either for documenting the artifact or for preserving its geometrical information and appearance. Moreover, by using a digital 3D model is extremely easy sharing information with the public and researchers without physically moving the artifact, and this represents a unique opportunity which cannot be achieved with traditional methods. Unfortunately most systems already present on the market are complex and costly both due to their hardware and software. This paper presents a novel acquisition system which is extremely cheap and can be easily arranged in any conservation laboratory. The solution is based on a simple acquisition system designed with the aim of providing researchers with a user-friendly and low-cost platform for the reconstruction of an artifact 3D model. The proposed system can be virtually interfaced to every commercial camera and can be integrated with several 3D reconstruction software. As an example, the authors employed a free open-source software referred to as Meshroom.