Combining geometric and photometric 3D reconstruction techniques for cultural heritage

Abstract

There are mainly two families of photographic 3D reconstruction techniques. Photogrammetry techniques work according to the principle of triangulation, from the matching of different views, while photometric techniques link the appearance of a 3D point to the orientation of its normal, relative to that of the incident light. While photogrammetry allows to find the global shape of a 3D scene, if it is sufficiently textured, photometric techniques highlight the details of the relief, as long as the model linking the lighting to the shape and reflectance of the scene is sufficiently realistic. In this work, we compare these different approaches with some others in the context of reconstructing archaeological features. After discussing their advantages and disadvantages, we describe a promising new method combining both families in a multi-view, multi-lighting context.