Photogrammetry
Photogrammetry is the process of creating 3D models from a set of overlapping photographs. It is fundamentally about making measurements of an object using photographs, but is now frequently used to digitize objects. All you really need is a camera and a computer, although there are smartphone apps that do this as well. Photogrammetry is very useful for archaeologists/anthropologists etc. who cannot remove items from their field site or who just want a digital copy to study. It can be used to digitize bones, artifacts, petroglyphs, or really anything. It is also frequently used in combination with a drone or UAV to capture landscapes and very large objects.
Many people have created fantastic tutorials on how to do photogrammetry so I will just link to them here rather than write my own. To summarize the basic steps:
Many people have created fantastic tutorials on how to do photogrammetry so I will just link to them here rather than write my own. To summarize the basic steps:
- You will need to take overlapping photos of an object at many different angles. You may also use a turntable with smaller objects.
- Then you will import the photos into a computer program (e.g. Agisoft Photoscan) where the photos will be aligned and a 3D point cloud and 3D mesh will be created.
- Then you will export the 3D mesh and clean it up using various 3D modelling software or use it as is!
Photogrammetry tutorials (in no particular order and definitely not comprehensive, just what I had previously bookmarked):
- http://www.haskinssociety.org/photogrammetry
- https://dinosaurpalaeo.wordpress.com/2013/10/31/photogrammetry-tutorial-1-equipment/
- https://dinosaurpalaeo.wordpress.com/2013/12/20/photogrammetry-tutorial-3-turntables/
- http://blog.sketchfab.com/post/121838008009/how-to-set-up-a-successful-photogrammetry-project
- http://adv-geo-research.blogspot.com/2015/06/photoscan-crash-course-v1-1.html?m=1
- http://culturalheritageimaging.org/Technologies/Photogrammetry/
- There are many many many tutorials out there. Just google photogrammetry tutorial and look around!
3D models created using photogrammetry (or other methods) are frequently shared via Sketchfab. Many museums have now created a Sketchfab account to digitally share their artifacts and exhibits.