For as long as institutions and individuals have been obtaining,
collecting and storing
prehistoric and historic materials they have struggled to find and
implement a good, usable, reliable
and transferable method for increasing the usefulness of their
collections. In the past the public and
researchers would need to travel to a museum or other collections
repositories to study materials
in any detail, particularly to obtain measurements of the objects.
However, travel was costly and
the measurement process often exposed the object to damage through
handling. In other cases
objects that have been placed in public museums or repositories may no
longer be accessible for
such studies since they may be removed as a result of repatriation.
Modern technical developments in computerized, softcopy photogrammetry
now can
address many of these problems. This report discusses the feasibility
and processes necessary to
utilize photogrammetric techniques and photogrammetric software in
order to be able to gather
metric data from softcopy three-dimensional images. A non-metric 35-mm
camera, scanner and
software system are used to generate color stereo images from which
metric data can be retrieved.
Our study indicates that such a system can yield measured results from
the images only that are
well within an acceptable range of error. These results demonstrate
the great potential of
photogrammetry and modern technology for archiving images, collecting
measurements and
analyzing artifacts that might not physically be available for study
in the future. In addition it
suggests consideration of a new approach to the distribution or
publication of information about
collections or objects. This would involve the distribution of stereo
digital imagery, on CD ROM
or on the Internet. Researchers who desire detailed measurements of
any illustrated object could
readily obtain it from the imagery alone.
This research was made possible through Grant MT-0424-4-NC-22 from the
National
Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT), and through
the use of softbench
photogrammetry equipment and software provided by the Intergraph
Corporation to the Center for
Advanced Spatial Technologies.
Web Document: http://web.cast.uark.edu/cast/projects/arch/photogram/Abstract.html
Last updated: July, 15 1997
Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, Fayetteville, AR 72701