Geomatics and augmented reality experiments for the cultural heritage

For years, the Laboratory of Geomatics of the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria has undertaken an interdisciplinary project for the recovery and dissemination of information regarding the cultural-artistic and archeological heritage of the metropolitan area. The combined use of geomatics technologies (laser scanners, GPS positioning, digital photogrammetry, remote sensing, GPR) allows on the one hand to investigate objects and artifacts, providing metric, form, and location information; and on the other, to catalog information and make it accessible to the community. Indeed, the digitalization and reconstruction tools of 3D models can be the answer to the limits related to communicability in the archeological sector. Precision, detail, and very accurate photo-realistic reconstructions are particularly useful for virtual and augmented reality applications, integrating them in the devices used on a daily basis. The present note concerns, therefore, the acquisition of information using the point cloud from UAVs and laser scanners, the subsequent 3D modeling, and their representation in an augmented reality (AR) environment using mobile platforms. The application was tested on the church of Sant’Antonio Abate, located in the North of Reggio Calabria, which according to studies is the only evidence of medieval architecture in the territory of Reggio Calabria. © 2018, Società Italiana di Fotogrammetria e Topografia (SIFET).