vividus Wissenschaftsverlag

Innovations in Digital 3D Documentations of Artifacts and Archaeological Sites
Practical Guidelines to Photo and Video Campaigns Using Cameras, Multicopters, and Mini-Submarines

Author: Marco Block-Berlitz

Target Audience

This book is aimed at undergraduate and graduate students of archaeology and anyone interested in a practical introduction to the subject. The technical and algorithmic foundations presented in the book are also suitable for the study of archaeological informatics, bridging the gap between archaeology and computer science.

1st Edition

The application of photo-based 3D reconstructions has proven to be an extremely useful tool in archaeological documentation practices both above and underwater. This book provides a comprehensive insight into the subject, delivering essential information on the applied methods to achieve successful results in practice. Photogrammetry is expanded to include videogrammetry, with an in-depth examination of the advantages and disadvantages of both techniques. To optimize the benefits of both approaches, a combined method is proposed at the end of the book.

Since many of the solutions and content in the book stem from practical documentation work in the archaeological field over recent years, the book also offers a valuable contribution from a purely practical perspective for the use of these methods in archaeological documentation.

Numerous data sets from various national and international documentation campaigns are discussed and provided. Additionally, the book demonstrates how cameras, multicopters, and mini-submarines can be successfully used and, in particular, safely handled in documentation practices

Videos are provided in many places to help you work efficiently with the book. These are also available on the website and can be played directly from a smartphone or tablet using the QR codes in the book.

At the end of each chapter there is a summary with further reading, a collection of exercises and a detailed practical section.

Background to the Book

The book is the result of the experiences, project work and documentation campaigns of recent years at the University of Applied Sciences Dresden (HTW Dresden). This book is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather to motivate and demonstrate the use of photogrammetric and videogrammetric methods.

The results presented here are the result of collaboration with many participants, who are thanked in the foreword of the book.

Content

Chapter 1 introduces the use of 3D documentation in archaeology and clarifies the term 3D reconstruction. The basis of many 3D reconstructions is photography. Chapter 2 introduces the special features of photography in an archaeological context, the digital representation of images and image processing. Necessary basics from photo- and videogrammetry are presented in Chapter 3 and provide an important foundation for further considerations.

Chapter 4 presents the safe use of multicopters for archaeological documentation in detail. Chapter 5 is dedicated to various recording strategies. Multicopter pilots should be able to carry these out manually. These recording strategies form the basis for automated flight campaigns, which are presented in Chapter 6. Subsequently, the topics of georeferencing and scaling of 3D models are described in Chapter 7. Chapter 8 examines the possibilities of archaeological underwater documentation with mini-submarines. Chapter 9 presents image enhancement methods for underwater recordings.

Using various examples above and below water, Chapter 10 presents the successful use of the videogrammetry method in practice. Chapter 11 combines the advantages of the two strategies of photo- and videogrammetry. In the final Chapter 12, we take a closer look at the important aspects of planning and carrying out documentation campaigns.

The complete table of contents of the book (1st edition):
TABLE OF CONTENTS [PDF 105 KB]

About the Author

Marco Block-Berlitz received his doctorate from the Free University of Berlin in 2009 and taught as a professor of game design and game development at the Mediadesign University in Berlin from 2009-2012. He has been Professor of Computer Graphics at the Dresden University of Applied Sciences since 2012. In 2023, he completed his habilitation at Free University of Berlin and has been a private lecturer at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science since April 2023.

CONTACT HIM
PERSONAL WEBSITE

Project Sponsorship Straßenkinder e.V.

The Straßenkinder e.V. association aims to get street children off the streets as quickly as possible through reintegration and to work preventively against social decline with educational and integration offers. The services offered by the association for street children in Berlin's social hotspots include establishing contacts, outreach street social work, social and legal advice, experiential education, reintegration camps, emergency care, contact points with fixed contact and help options and aftercare:
https://strassenkinder-ev.de/

With this book I would like to make a contribution to the Straßenkinder e.V. association. On behalf of my parents, 5% of the proceeds from the sale of the book will go directly to the sponsorship project.

Marco Block-Berlitz

Sample Chapter

To give an insight into the content of the book, a book chapter was made available as a sample chapter:

CHAPTER 5: Recording Strategies for Aerial Survey Campaigns [PDF 16.3 MB]

The chapter is an important tool for understanding recording strategies.

Lecturer Materials

Up-to-date slide material is also available for lecturers. Simply send us a request and let us know at which course you would like to use the materials:

LECTURER REQUEST

Data Packages for Practical Assignments

Here you will find data sets (sorted by order in the book) that are well suited for practical exercises. The recordings can be used freely by citing the book as a reference (see e.g. [1]):

haldlake_20_sekunden_2019.zip [ZIP 128 MB]
80 images with 1980x1080 pixel, DJI Phantom 4 Pro

schildkroete_erde_an_zukunft_kika_2019.zip [ZIP 41 MB]
333 images with 1980x1080 pixel, GoPro Hero 4 BE

smallTemple.mp4 [MP4 87 MB]
video with 3840x2160 pixel, 20 sek, 15 fps, GoPro Hero 2

pulaArena_2017.zip [ZIP 188 MB]
242 images with 1280x720 pixel, DJI Phantom 4 Pro

karabalgas.kml [2 KB]
KML file, Karabalgas, Orkhon Valley (Mongolia)

mongolei_2018.zip [ZIP 887 MB]
165 images with 4000x3000 pixel, DJI Phantom 4 Pro

degaron_2014.zip [ZIP 587 MB]
76 images with 5184x3456 pixel, Canon EOS 600D

surin_islands_human_documentation_2016.zip [ZIP 70 MB]
246 images with 1980x1080 pixel, GoPro Hero 3

sandstein_saeule_2023.mp4 [MP4 34 MB]
video with 1980x1080 pixel, 34 sek, 30 fps, smartphone Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G

tombs_of_the_kings_2023.mp4 [MP4 92 MB]
video with 1980x1080 pixel, 82 sek, 30 fps, smartphone Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G

steinabdruck_pfote.mp4 [MP4 91 MB]
video with 1980x1080 pixel, 38 sek, 30 fps, smartphone Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G

steinschuessel.mp4 [MP4 315 MB]
video with 1980x1080 pixel, 112 sek, 30 fps, smartphone Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G

schildkroete_karakorum_2018.zip [ZIP 153 MB]
424 images with 1980x1080 pixel, smartphone Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G

[1] Block-Berlitz, Marco: "Innovations in Digital 3D Documentationsof Artifacts and Archaeological Sites - Practical Guidelines to Photo and Video Campaigns Using Cameras, Multicopters, and Mini-Submarines", 1st Edition, ISBN: 978-3-949667-10-7, vividus Wissenschaftsverlag, 2024

Video Materials

More than 30 videos were provided for the first edition and made directly available via QR codes in the book. The list of current videos can be found here on a separate website:

VIDEO COLLECTION

Checklists and Protocols

Various checklists and protocols for the use of multicopters and mini-submarines can be found here, which may be used freely provided the reference is given (see e.g. [1]):

Flugprotokoll.pdf [124 KB]

Diving-Protocol.pdf [96 KB]
Erster Tauchgang -1- Inbetriebnahme.pdf [131 KB]
Erster Tauchgang -2- UUV Ablaufen und Aufnahme.pdf [122 KB]
Erster Tauchgang -3- UUV Auftauchen und Herausnehmen.pdf [116 KB]
Wiederholungstauchgang -4- UUV Ablaufen und Aufnahme.pdf [117 KB]
FAILSAFE Drucktest.pdf [110 KB]

[1] Block-Berlitz, Marco: "Innovations in Digital 3D Documentationsof Artifacts and Archaeological Sites - Practical Guidelines to Photo and Video Campaigns Using Cameras, Multicopters, and Mini-Submarines", 1st Edition, ISBN: 978-3-949667-10-7, vividus Wissenschaftsverlag, 2024

Book Errata

An up-to-date list of the errors already found in the book can be found here:

0 FEHLER ENTDECKT

Have you discovered any errors in the book? Then let's improve the content together. Thank you very much:

REPORT ERROR

Software Packages

Here you will find various software packages that are suitable for trying out practical tasks. However, these are software packages in an experimental state and are installed and used at the user's own risk. No claims can therefore be made against the author or publisher. The software packages can be used by stating the two references (see e.g. [1] and [2]) and are subject to the CC BY-NC 4.0:

jundistortion_64bit.zip [ZIP 194 MB]
JUndistortion - Version 2023_04_06, Camera calibration tool based on OpenCV

jkeyframer_light_64bit.zip [ZIP 33 MB]
JKeyframer Light - Version 1.0, Keyframe selection tool based on OpenCV

[1] Block-Berlitz, Marco: "Innovations in Digital 3D Documentationsof Artifacts and Archaeological Sites - Practical Guidelines to Photo and Video Campaigns Using Cameras, Multicopters, and Mini-Submarines", 1st Edition, ISBN: 978-3-949667-10-7, vividus Wissenschaftsverlag, 2024
[2] OpenCV, Version 2.4.13

The following software package can be used by stating the two references (see e.g. [3] and [2]) and is subject to the CC BY-NC 4.0:

jenhancer_64bit.zip [ZIP 194 MB]
JEnhancer - Version 2023_12_01, Image enhancement tool for underwater images based on OpenCV

[3] Block M., Gehmlich B., Hettmanczyk D.: "Automatic Underwater Image Enhancement using Improved Dark Channel Prior", In: Journal of Studies in Digital Heritage, Indiana University, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 566-589, 2017

If you have any questions about the software packages, please send an e-mail to the author:

QUESTION ABOUT SOFTWARE PACKAGES