3D Scanning, Documentation, and Digitization
Shaded and Colored 3D model of Medici Tomb; Florence, IT
Accurate documentation
3D scanning provides sub-millimeter accuracy on complex forms and spaces, making it incredibly useful for the digital preservation and conservation of tangible cultural heritage and art objects.
Digital Preservation
Conservators can track changes from year to year and monitor degradation remotely by studying the 3D data. Accurate 3D documentation can even be used to correct damage, and hypothesize restorations without direct physical intervention.
The flexibility + extensibility of 3d
The primary product of 3D scanning is a highly accurate, scaled 3D digital model of the object or space - meaning that complete measured drawings, such as plans and sections, are easily derived from the scan model.
The 3D models can also be used for a variety of mixed reality (XR) applications including virtual visits, augmented reality, and public outreach. In effect, a 3D model is a three-dimensional digital snapshot of the current state of preservation.
Case Studies
‘Theater of Pompey’ subterranean ruins survey; Rome, Italy
Lorenzetti’s “Allegories of Good and Bad Government”; Siena, Italy
“Reading Architecture in Virtual Reality”; Columbus, IN
IU-Uffizi Digitization Project; Florence, Italy
These four case studies present a cross-section of the motivations and uses for 3D digital documentation: ranging from the rapid survey of inaccessible subterranean Ancient Roman ruins, to virtual reality architectural history education, and virtual visits to masterpieces of Italian Renaissance art.
Each project deals with a digitization effort at a different physical scale and using different techniques and processes dictated by the desired results and presentation medium, whether it is measured drawings, a virtual reality environment, a full-3D digital inventory of over 600 Ancient Roman marble sculptures, or 360-degree YouTube videos.