3D reconstruction and visualization of alternatives for restoration of historic buildings: A new approach

Abstract

This paper puts forward a 3D reconstruction methodology applied to the restoration of historic buildings taking advantage of the combined speed, range and accuracy of a total geodetic station. The measurements of geo-referenced points produced a fully interactive and photorealistic geometric mesh of an historic monument named `Neoria'. `Neoria' is a Venetian building located by the old harbour at Chania, Crete, Greece. The integration of tacheometry acquisition and computer graphics puts forward a novel integrated software framework for the accurate 3D reconstruction of a historical building. The main technical challenge of this work was the production of an accurate 3D mesh based on a sufficient number of tacheometry measurements acquired fast and at low-cost. Interpolation methods ensured that a detailed geometric mesh was constructed based on a few points. Advanced interactive functionalities are offered to the user in relation to identifying restoration areas and visualizing the outcome of such works in a fully interactive application based on game engine technologies. Moreover, the user could photorealistically visualize the actual or restored monument and calculate distances between points.