EU-funded Research Project

ArcTron 3D is part of a top-class consortium substantially funded by the EU in order to develop new technologies for rock art research.

The impressive rock art across the Valcamonica valley in Northern Italy is subject of the project. More than 100.000 single images are spread over the 70km long valley and date from the Chalcolithic to the Middle Ages.

„Rock art“ – images carved or pecked into stone – is more common in Europe than painted cave art. This art exists in open-air surfaces exposed to the weather rather than inside caves. This wealth of Europe’s cultural heritage is inaccessible, difficult to study but provides profound stories from our ancient past. These „Pitoti“ (meaning little puppet in the local dialect) have been UNESCO World Heritage since 1979 but are still are no very well known.

3D-Pitoti is going to change that: New technologies will be developed in order to replace old documentation methods. Together with innovative visualization techniques, they will not only spread the word of the Pitoti to a wider public, but also advance a new stage of scientific results.

At the beginning of the project, ArcTron 3D will record reference data at several levels with latest 3D scanning technologies: A complete 3D model of the valley will be created using airborne 3D photogrammetry, terrestrial laser scanning will survey whole rock formations, and single Pitoti will be recorded in highest resolution using structured light scanning.

During the project, ArcTron and TU Graz will develop a new, portable high-resolution scanning system for extremely flat structures. It will be subject to various field tests. All data recorded during the project will be integrated into a complex 3D information system. ArcTron’s long-term developments in that area will serve as a basis for that. The project will also develop intelligent algorithms that enable an automatic segmentation and classification of single Pitoti.

New interactive and stereoscopic visualization technologies by the Bauhaus University of Weimar will prepare the data not only for scientists but also for new didactic approaches to visitors and school classes.

3D-Pitoti is funded by the 7th Framework Programme of the EU and is carried out by the following partners:

 The University of Nottingham

Fachhochschule St. Pölten Forschungs GmbH

The University of Cambridge

Bauhaus-Universität Weimar

Technische Universität Graz

ArcTron 3D - Vermessungs- und Softwareentwicklungs GmbH

Associazone Centro Camuno die Studi Preistorici ed Etnologici

aSPECT^3D - 3D scanning, measuring, modelling & structuring based on compact camera pictures?

Digital 3D models simplify the work of engineers, architects, designers or cultural heritage preservers on many levels. 3D data is also essential for the industrial sector. The problem with 3D data often lies within the data collection: how are you supposed to obtain 3D data when deadlines and budgets are pressing and 3D scanners and surveying services are not an option?

Generating 3D models - using your own camera and the right software solution
The software aSPECT^3D enables every user to generate 3D point clouds of an object from digital image series. This process requires nothing but a commercially available digital camera. The user needs to document the object with a large number of images from various perspectives. From these pictures, aSPECT^3D computes the 3D point cloud, which can afterwards be scaled and transformed into the desired coordinate system. For that, you can combine and correlate the point cloud with data of other survey systems (e.g. a simple length measurement, total station, GPS, 3D laser scanner, 3D structured light scanner). Furthermore, aSPECT^3D offers various functions for triangulation and texturing of recorded objects. 

How can large 3D survey data amounts be structured and managed?
The inherent, revised and redesigned PostgreSQL-database can store, manage and structure all data (geometries, textures, points, meta data). The database can individually be modified and built up by every user and thus offers great flexibility. 3D data sets imported into the database can be further segmented, categorized and combined with additional meta data (PDFs, films, texts, images).

A new presentation module provides a fast and efficient display of your point clouds and 3D objects in high-resolution graphics or animated videos.

The latest aSPECT^3D version provides users with an extensive 3D tool set. It can combine and edit data from different survey systems and manage it in an individually configurable database. A new age of 3D documentation and presentation is rising: Generating 3D models with or without 3D laser scanner – Visitors can experience this hands-on also at our exhibition shows. Upcoming dates you will find here...