ArticlePDF Available

Generation of a Multi-Scale Historic BIM-GIS with Digital Recording Tools and Geospatial Information

Authors:
Luigi Barazzetti at Politecnico di Milano
Luigi Barazzetti
Fabio Roncoroni
Fabio Roncoroni
Fabio Roncoroni
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Download full-text PDF
Read full-text
Download citation

Abstract and Figures

This paper discusses the creation of an integrated historic BIM-GIS for the complex of San Pietro al Monte, an important Romanesque monument in Civate (Italy) inscribed in the UNESCO tentative list with other seven medieval Benedictine settlements. The reason behind the choice of an integrated H-BIM-GIS solution is motivated by the large extension of the considered area (about 30 km2) and the need for multi-scale digital information integrated into a 3D parametric environment. The model includes geospatial information at a territorial scale and in situ digital data capturing the complex at a higher level of detail. The work aims at exploring the pros and cons of a novel parametric 3D environment able to integrate both BIM and GIS data, methods, and processing tools in the case of historic buildings and sites.
Figures - available via license: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Content may be subject to copyright.
Available via license: CC BY 4.0
Content may be subject to copyright.
Heritage2021,4,3331–3348.https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage4040185www.mdpi.com/journal/heritage
Article
GenerationofaMulti‐ScaleHistoricBIM‐GISwithDigital
RecordingToolsandGeospatialInformation
LuigiBarazzetti
1*
andFabioRoncoroni
2
1
DepartmentofArchitecture,BuiltEnvironmentandConstructionEngineering(ABC),PolitecnicodiMilano,
ViaPonzio31,20133Milan,Italy
2
PoloTerritorialediLecco,PolitecnicodiMilano,viaPreviati1/c,23900Lecco,Italy;
fabio.roncoroni@polimi.it
*Correspondence:luigi.barazzetti@polimi.it;Tel:+39‐02‐2399‐8779
Abstract:ThispaperdiscussesthecreationofanintegratedhistoricBIM‐GISforthecomplexofSan
PietroalMonte,animportantRomanesquemonumentinCivate(Italy)inscribedintheUNESCO
tentativelistwithothersevenmedievalBenedictinesettlements.Thereasonbehindthechoiceofan
integratedH‐BIM‐GISsolutionismotivatedbythelargeextensionoftheconsideredarea(about30
km
2
)andtheneedformulti‐scaledigitalinformationintegratedintoa3Dparametricenvironment.
Themodelincludesgeospatialinformationataterritorialscaleandinsitudigitaldatacapturingthe
complexatahigherlevelofdetail.Theworkaimsatexploringtheprosandconsofanovel
parametric3DenvironmentabletointegratebothBIMandGISdata,methods,andprocessingtools
inthecaseofhistoricbuildingsandsites.
Keywords:BIM;digitalrecording;GIS;H‐BIM‐GIS;integration;multi‐scale
1.Introduction
Inrecentyears,BuildingInformationModeling(BIM)hasgainedprogressive
importanceforheritagedocumentation.HBIM(HistoricBIM)wasdescribedby[1,2]
consideringthecaseofhistoricbuildings,notwithstandingthatparametricmodeling
fromlaserscanshadalreadybeenproposedbythesameauthorsin[3].
Historicbuildingsfeatureadditionalproblemscomparedtomoreregularmodern
buildings.Differentauthorshaveproposeddifferentproceduresandmethodstogenerate
accurateHBIMfordifferenttypologiesofhistoricconstructions,suchaschurchesand
cathedrals,villasandpalaces,castles,andbridges,amongothers[4–9].
Digitalrecordingmethodssuchaslaserscanningandphotogrammetry[10]areoften
usedtocaptureaccurateanddensepointcloudsthatcanguidethemodelingphasein
BIMsoftware.Pointcloudsarethenusedtomodelthedifferentconstructiveelementsof
thebuildingusingaparametricapproach.Differentauthorshavedevelopedprocedures
andsolutionsforthecreationofanaccurateBIMstartingfromaphotogrammetricand
laserscanningsurvey.Thereaderisreferredto[11–15]forsomeexamples.
Mostsoftware(AutodeskRevit,ArchiCAD,etc.)capableofcreatingaparametric
modelbasedonBIMtoolswasdevelopedconsideringmodernconstructions.Themodel
isgeneratedbyassemblingdifferentconstructiveelements(floors,walls,stairs,doors,
windows,etc.).Ashistoricconstructionsoftenfeatureveryirregulargeometry,research
workhasbeenconductedtodevelopmethodstoprovideaparametricrepresentationof
complexgeometries,minimizingthelossofgeometricaccuracyinthetransitionfromthe
pointcloudtotheBIM.
Thispaperaimsatimplementingamulti‐scaleBIMapproachdifferentthanthe
traditionalBIMprocess,whichmainlyconcentratesonthelevelofthebuilding.Thecase
studydescribedinthemanuscripthasamuchwiderextensionandcoversageographic
Citation:Barazzetti,L.;Roncoroni,
F.GenerationofaMulti‐Scale
HistoricBIM‐GISwithDigital
RecordingToolsandGeospatial
Information.
Heritage2021,4,3331–3348.
https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage4040185
AcademicEditor:NicolaMasini
Received:1August2021
Accepted:8October2021
Published:12October2021
Publisher’sNote:MDPIstays
neutralwithregardtojurisdictional
claimsinpublishedmapsand
institutionalaffiliations.
Copyright:©2021bytheauthors.
Submittedforpossibleopenaccess
publicationunderthetermsand
conditionsoftheCreativeCommons
Attribution(CCBY)license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses
/by/4.0/).
Heritage2021,4,43332
areaofabout5kmx6km.Thepaper,therefore,investigatestheopportunitytogenerate
aparametricmodelnotlimitedtothelevelbuilding,butalsoatacartographiclevelwith
theintegrationofGISinformation[16].
TheconsideredcasestudyisthecomplexofSanPietroalMonte(Civate,Italy)an
importantRomanesquemonumentlocatedonmountCornizzolo(Figure1).Thecomplex
consistsofthreebuildings:theBasilicaofSanPietro,theOratorydedicatedtoSan
Benedetto,andsomeruinsofthemonastery.Thecomplexwaspresumablyfounded
duringthefirstcenturiesoftheMiddleAges.Itwaslargelyrenewedinthe11thcentury
whenreligioussettlementsgainedpower.Theabbeywasrepeatedlyabandonedoverthe
centuries.Alargepartofthemonasterycollapsed,andfewremainsarestillvisible.The
mainchurchwasrestoredduringthe19thand20thcenturies.Since2016,SanPietroal
MonteisincludedintheUNESCOTentativeListintheframeworkoftheproject“The
culturallandscapeoftheBenedictinesettlementsinmedievalItaly”.
Figure1.ThecomplexofSanPietroalMonteinCivate(Italy).
TheconsideredareawithapreliminaryversionoftheinitialBIM‐GISmodelisshown
inFigure2.Themodelismadeupofdifferentdatasets:digitalterrainmodelandcontour
lines,orthophoto,buildinglayer,roadnetwork,andwaterareas.Thelocationofthe
complexismarkedwitharedcircle.Themulti‐scaleH‐BIM‐GIShereproposedintegrates
georeferencedinformationandcombinesparametricmodelingtoolsofBIMthatcanalso
operateoncartographicinformation.However,thetraditionalBIMobjects(e.g.,floors,
walls,doors,windows,etc.)arenotconsideredinthiswork.TheBIM‐GISusesobjectslike
buildings,roads,waterbodies,vegetation,etc.,andoffersa3Denvironmentwith
parametricmodelingtoolsthatareusuallyusedforinfrastructure[17,18].Indeed,
infrastructureprojectsoftencoverafieldthatspansfromthelocalleveltothecartographic
scale[19],requiringspecificlocaldatageoreferencedinacartographicreferencesystem
aswellasgeospatialinformationatdifferentlevels(e.g.,municipality,provincial,
regional,ornationallevel).
Thepaperdescribesthecreationofthe3Ddigitalenvironmentbasedonmultiple
data,includingdatainsitucapturedwithtraditionaldigitalrecordingtools(laserscanner
Heritage2021,4,43333
andphotogrammetry)andsomeinnovativemethods(spherical[20,21]andfisheye[22,23]
photogrammetry).
Figure2.3DvisualizationofthepreliminaryH‐BIM‐GISincludingthemunicipalityofCivate.Theredcircleindicatesthe
locationofthecomplexofSanPietroalMonte.
2.OverviewoftheProposedH‐BIM‐GIS
Thechoicebehindthedevelopmentofamulti‐scaleH‐BIM‐GISsystemnotlimited
toanHBIMismotivatedbytheintrinsiccharacteristicsofthesite.ThecomplexofSan
PietroalMontecanbereachedthroughamountainpathofabout2.5kminlength,with
adifferenceinelevationofabout400mfromthebottomofthevalley.Thepathandthe
surroundingareainthemunicipalityofCivatehaveseveralhistoricsitesthatcannotbe
neglectedinthecreationofacomprehensivedigitaldatabase.Forinstance,theCasadel
Pellegrinoandotherchurches(S.Vito,S.Caloceroalpiano,S.NazzaroeCelso)werealso
consideredinthedevelopmentoftheintegratedH‐BIM‐GIS.
Thestudywasundertakenusingtwocommercialsoftwareprogramsthatcan
exchangedigitaldata:AutodeskInfraWorksandArcGISPro.Theextensionofthearea
andtheavailabilityofmulti‐sourceinformationcollectedformorethantenyearsrequired
anenvironmentabletostoreandmakeavailableheterogeneousdatasets.Theauthors’
choicewasanH‐BIM‐GISwithavariabledetailfromthecartographicleveltothedifferent
buildingshereconsideredandtheirconstructiveelements.
TheproposedBIM‐GISapproachis:
multi‐scale:fromtheterritorialscaletothearchitecturaldetailsofthecomplex;
multi‐sensor:differentmethodsandtoolswereusedtocapturethegeometricdata
necessaryforthemodelingwork;
multi‐temporal:datawereacquiredindifferentyearsandcanalsobeusedtofind
changesthatoccurredovertime.
Theideawasthecreationofadigitalenvironmentabletointegrategeoreferenced
informationintheUTM32‐WGS84(ETRF2000)system[24]inawaythatiseasily
accessibleandcanbeexploitedforseveralapplicationsnotonlylimitedtothecontextof
theabbey.Thedatafeaturevariableresolutionsandformatsforwhichthesingle‐useof
onlyasinglesoftwareprogramisnotsufficient.
Heritage2021,4,43334
Figure3showstheconceptbehindthedevelopmentoftheproposeddigital
environment.Geospatialdatainbothrasterandvectorformats[25]wereretrievedfrom
differentonlinerepositoriesthatprovideopendataattheprovincialandregionallevels.
InformationfromOpenStreetMapwasalsoimported,aswellasmulti‐temporalsatellite
images(Sentinel‐2andLandsat)[26].Differentsurveyingcampaigns(insitu)werecarried
outon‐siteforabouttenyears.Digitalimagesandlaserscanswerecapturedusing
differentplatforms(drones,terrestrialcameras,laserscanners,360cameras,etc.)to
producevariousdeliverablessuchas3Dmodels,measureddrawings,orthoimages,and
digitalelevationmodels,whichwereintegratedforthefirsttimeintoasingle3D
environment.
Figure3.TheH‐BIM‐GISintegratesmultipledatausingamulti‐scaleapproach:fromthecartographicleveltothedetails
ofthebuilding.Theimageshowssomeofthedatathatcanbestored:(fromtopleftcorner‐clockwiseorder)orthophoto
fromaerialphotogrammetry,CTR(regionalcartographicmap),someGISvectorlayers,falsecolorSentinel‐2image,
mountainpathshapefiles,texturedmeshesfromsphericalandfisheyephotogrammetry,virtualreality(VR)tours
(bottomrightcorner),meshfromdroneimages,laserscanningpointcloud,3Dmodelfrommanualmodeling,GNSSdata,
DEM,andsomeoftheinstrumentsused.
InfraWorksallowstheusertoimportsuchavarietyofdigitalrecordsdirectlyif
georeferencinginformationisavailable.Forthisreason,asolutionwasalsodevelopedfor
thoseproductsthatarenotgeoreferenced.Forinstance,orthophotosofverticalelevations
haveanassociatedgeoreferencedpoint‐of‐interest(POI)inthesystemsothattheusercan
selectthe(POI)andgetaccesstotheimage.
3Dmodels,DEMs,orthophotosinthecartographicplane(East,North),andpoint
cloudscaninsteadbedirectlyimportedusinggeoreferencinginformation.Theelevation
usedduringthecreationofthemodelistheorthometricelevation(H)[27].Theconversion
fromellipsoidelevation(h)wascarriedoutusingtheItaliangeoidmodelITALGEO2005
[28].Whenmeasurementscoveralargearea(suchasthe30km2consideredinthiswork)
thedigitalenvironmentmustbeabletocopewithcartographicreferencesystems.Theuse
ofatraditionalCartesianreferencesystem(X,Y,Z)wouldnotabletohandlethedifferent
effects,suchasthecurvatureoftheEarth[29].
Heritage2021,4,43335
TheproposedH‐BIM‐GISalsocoversanintermediatelevelbetweencartographic
applicationsandthearchitecturalscale.Itcanoperateandcommunicatewithboth
systems,whicharestillnecessaryforspecificoperations.Infact,theproposedsolution
doesnotreplaceGISandBIM,whicharestillthebestsolutionsdependingontheproblem
tobesolved.Oneofthegoalsofthisworkwastoprovideabetterwaytoaccess
informationandcoordinateprocessinginsteadofreplicatingthoseoperationswhichcan
becarriedoutwithGISandBIMtechnology.
Thisworkmainlyconcentratesonthesimultaneoususeoftwoapplicationsthatcan
communicateanddynamicallytransferdata:ArcGISPro(andArcGisOnline)and
AutodeskInfraWorks.Thecombineduseofbothsoftwarepackageshasthegreat
advantageofenablingdifferenttypesofoperations,therebycombiningBIMandGIS
functionalities.Interoperabilitycanbeobtainedwithstaticfiletransfer(e.g.,
import/exporttools)orinamoredynamicwaywiththeAutodeskConnectorforArcGIS
availableinInfraWorks.Themaindisadvantageoftheproposedsolutionistheneedfor
twodifferentsoftwareplatforms.However,asalsomentionedinotherwork[30],theaim
ofthisworkisnotthedevelopmentofanalternativeapproachbasedonasingle
environment,buttousebothtechnologies(BIMandGIS)andcopewiththeirreciprocal
prosandcons(Figure4).ThesimultaneoususeofBIMandGISallowsthe
reimplementationoftoolsalreadyavailableinaspecificpackage.Fromthispointofview,
interoperabilitybecomesanessentialrequirementbecauseitallowsforthemovementof
dataandtheproductionofnewinformationwithoutduplicatingexistingfunctionsand
toolsalreadyavailableinoneofthetwotypesofsoftwareused.
Figure4.Datacanbeexchangedusingtraditionalimport/exporttoolsoramoredirectconnectionbetweenthepackages
basedononlineservices.
AutodeskConnectorforArcGISallowsimprovedinteroperabilitybetween
InfraWorksandArcGIS.DataprocessedinArcGISProanduploadedinArcGISOnlineas
wellasdatadirectlygeneratedinArcGISOnlinecanberetrievedandimportedin
InfraWorksaftersettingtheextensionoftheprojectarea.Alldatasourcesuploadedand
Heritage2021,4,43336
madeavailablebytheuseralongwithdataaccessibleinArcGISOnlinebecomevisiblein
Connector.Theuseronlyhastoselectthedatasourceanddefinethetypologyoftheobject
(e.g.,building,road,waterbody,etc.)toaddgeoreferenceddatasetsintheproject.A
datasetinInfraWorkscanalsobepublishedintoArcGISOnline,addingspecifictagsto
simplifysearchanddiscoveryoperations.Ontheotherhand,limitationswerefoundfor
somespecificfileformatsthatcannotbedynamicallyexchangedthroughConnectorand
thatrequiredamoretraditionalimport/exportapproachbasedonfilesreadablebythe
twosoftwareplatforms.
3.TheModelbasedonGeospatialInformationataTerritorialScale
3.1.CreationofthePreliminaryCartographicModel
ApreliminaryBIM‐GISoftheconsideredareaofabout30km2wasgeneratedusing
theModelBuildertoolavailableinInfraWorks,whichcreatesa3Dmodelinafully
automatedwayafterdefiningtheboundaryofthearea.ModelBuildercanretrievethe
followingtypesofgeospatialinformationavailableindifferentonlinerepositories:
buildingsfromOpenStreetMap;
roadsandrailwaysfromOpenStreetMap;
digitalelevationmodelsas10m×10mor30m×30mgriddedfiles.Theresolution
dependsonthelocation.TerraindatafortheUnitedStatesanditsterritorieshavea
10mDEMresolution.Theareabetween‐60°and+60°latitudeiscoveredbythe
SRTMGL130mDEMdata.Theareabetween+60°and+83°latitudeusesASTER
GDEMv230mDEMdata;
satelliteimageryfromMicrosoft®BingMaps,whichisautomaticallydrapedoverthe
DEM;
waterbodiesasvectorlayersfromtheOpenStreetMapdataset.
TheresultandsomedetailsarevisibleinFigure5.Thepreliminarymodelwassaved
asproposal1(p1).Indeed,InfraWorksallowsuserstogeneratemultipleproposalsinthe
sameproject,whichaimsatshowingdifferentdesignalternativesforthedifferent
modules(suchasroaddesign).
Figure5.Thepreliminarymodelofthebuilding(proposal1)anditslimitedlevelofdetailatthescaleofthemonument.
Theopportunitytokeepmultipleproposalswasusedtoproducemodelswitha
progressivelyrefinedlevelofdetailwithoutlosingimportantinformationwhen
additionalproductsareavailable.Fromthispointofview,theH‐BIM‐GISmodelisa
Heritage2021,4,43337
repositoryofdigitalinformationthatexploitsdifferentcombinationsofdigital
informationstoredindifferentproposalswhichcanbemodified(suchasdeletingor
mergingexistingproposals),offeringstatisticaltoolstoquantifyoperations.Forinstance,
theusercanautomaticallyretrievetheareaoccupiedbybuildingsorthelengthofroads.
Formoreadvancedoperations,theusercaninsteadusetheadvancedgeospatial
processingtoolsavailableinArcGIS,exploitingtheconceptofinteroperabilitybasedon
commonformatsandavoidingthereimplementationoftoolsalreadyavailable.
3.2.RefiningtheModelwithAdditionalGeospatialInformation
Ahugeamountofopengeospatialdataisavailableintheconsideredarea.Aninitial
modelgeneratedautomaticallycanbethenintegratedwithadditionalfilesthatcanbe
availableonlineinrepositoriesnotlinkedtoModelBuilder.Inthisway,asecondproposal
(p2)canbeaddedtotheproject(Figure6),withouterasingtheinitialmodel(p1)thatcould
beusefulforotheranalyses.
(a)
(b)
Figure6.Refinementoftheinitialmodelatacartographiclevel(proposalp2)usingGISdata(a)fromregionalrepositories
thatcanbeaddedtoInfraWorks(b).
Heritage2021,4,43338
Adigitalterrainmodelwithahighergeometricresolutionwasaddedtotheproject.
TheDTMoftheLombardyRegionisprovidedasa5m×5mgrid.TheDTMwasproduced
usingairborneLiDARandfilteringprocedurestointerpolateterrainpointsonly.Itis
availableasaGeoTIFFforthedifferentprovincesatnocost.Thepartrelatedtothe
provinceofLeccowasdownloadedfromtheOpenDataGeoportaloftheregion,imported
intoArcGISandclippedtoconsideronlytheareaofinterestfortheproject.TheDTMwas
thensavedasanewGeoTIFFandimportedintoInfraWorks.
TheresolutionofthenewDTMissignificantlybetterthanthepreliminarysolution
basedonModelBuilder.Oneoftheoperationscarriedoutwasthereconstructionofthe
verticalprofileofthepathfromthemunicipalityofCivatetotheabbey,whichcanbe
directlycarriedoutinInfraWorksusingtheRoadDesigntool.Resultsaresignificantly
moreaccuratethanthosebasedontheproposal1DEM.
Additionalvectordatawereintegratedintoproposal2.Thegeospatialdatabaseof
theregioncontainsmultiplelayers.InthecaseofthemodelshowninFigure6,theGIS
modelincludesbuildings,roads,riversstreams,thelake,andgreenareas.Somelayers
weretransferredtoInfraWorksusingConnectoraftersharingthemonArcGISOnline.
DataretrievalandimportintoInfraWorkswasautomatedanddidnotrequireduplication
ofdataonthelaptopusedfortheworkbecausedatasharingiscarriedoutusingcloud
services.AfterimportinganewfeaturelayerintoInfraWorks,itisnecessarytodefinethe
typologyofanobjectanditsmainparameters.Inthisway,parametriccapabilitiesare
addedtothemodelthatcanbeusedforfurtherprocessingusinganapproachlikeBIM.
4.Integrationofin‐SituDigitalInformation
4.1.GeoreferencinginSituDatausingGNSS
Amulti‐scaleapproachwasimplementedstartingfromthecartographicleveltothe
levelofdetailofthecomplexanditsconstructiveelements.Indeed,theintegratedBIM‐
GIScanstoregeoreferenceddataatdifferentscales.Theinsitudigitalsurveysoftheabbey
werecarriedoutusingdifferenttechniquesandmethods.
Accurategeoreferencingofmetricinformationisafundamentalaspecttoachievean
integratedplatformencapsulatingin‐situdata.Measurementscapturedon‐sitewere
georeferencedusingGNSStechniquesbasedonLeica1200receivers,usingacombination
ofstaticprocessingmethodsandReal‐TimeKinematics[31].AlthoughapermanentGNSS
networkisavailableintheregion[32],theinternetconnectionclosetothecomplexwas
notsufficientlystrongtoprovidereal‐timetransmissionofdifferentialcorrections.The
surveywasconductedusingabasereceiverwithapproximatedcoordinatesandarover
connectedviaradio.Themasterreceiveralsocapturedrawdataforalongsession(about
4h)whichwasusedtocalculateprecisebasecoordinates.RINEXdataofthepermanent
GNSSstationinthecityofLeccowereusedtoestimateabaseline[33].Leccostationisthe
closestGNSSreceiverandislocatedabout7kmfromtheabbey.
Rovercoordinateswerethencorrectedaccordingly.Ellipsoidelevationswere
convertedintoorthometricelevationusingthegeoidmodelITALGEO2005.Theexpected
precisionofasurveyconductedinthiswayisabout±2–4cm,whichissufficientfor
georeferencingallthemetricdataacquiredon‐site.TheuseoftheItaliangeoidmodel
ITALGEO2005providesbetterresultsthanglobalmodelsavailableinmostcommercial
software(e.g.,EGM96).
IfcomparedtotraditionalapproachesforBIMgeneration,theuseofgeoreferenced
dataisfundamentaltoensureintegrationbetweencartographicdataandcannotbe
neglectedinthecaseofaccuratedigitalrecordingprojects.Totalstationmeasurements
allowedtheregistrationofthedifferentlaserscanningandphotogrammetricprojectson
theGNSSpoints.Theconversionfromthelocalreferencesystemofthetotalstation(x,y)
tothecartographic(East,North)basedonUTM32‐WGS84(ETRF2000)wascarriedwitha
roto‐translation,i.e.,athree‐parametertransformationestimatedfromcommonpoints,
obtainingresidualsintheorderof±1–2cm.Thecalculationfortheareaofthecomplex
Heritage2021,4,43339
didnotincludeascalefactortopreservetherealdistancesofthetotalstationandlaser
scanningmeasurements,whichwereusedtocreate3Dmodels.Inthisway,the3Dmodel
generatedusinglaserscanningmeasurementsprovideseffectivedistancesmoreuseful
forconservationactivities.
4.2.LaserScanningandPhotogrammetrywithaDrone
AphotogrammetricflightwascarriedoutwithaParrotAnafitoproducea
georeferencedorthophotoanddigitalelevationmodelofthearea.Ablockofmorethan
200imageswasprocessedwithAgisoftMetashape,addingsomecontrolpoints(target
placedontheground)measuredusingGNSStechniques.Imageswereacquiredusingthe
Pix4DCaptureapplication,whichallowedthecreationofanautomaticflightplanwith
80%longitudinaland60%transversaloverlap.
Theflightwasthenintegratedwithsomeconvergentimagestoreconstructthe
verticalfacadesoftheabbeyandthebaptistery.Thesolutionwasbothautomatic(using
thecircularacquisitiontoolinPix4DCapture)andmanual,i.e.,manuallycontrollingthe
dronetocaptureconvergentimagesclosetothetrees.Figure7showsa
georeferenced/textured3Dmodeloftheexteriorofthecomplex,whichwasimportedas
ameshobjectintoInfraWorks.

Figure7.3DmodelfromdroneintegratedintotheH‐BIM‐GIS(proposal3).
Adigitalelevationmodelandanorthophotowerealsoproducedandintegratedinto
bothArcGISProandInfraWorks(asanewproposaln.3,Figure8).Thecentimeter‐level
resolutionofthedroneorthophotoandDEMenhancedprojectresolutionoftwoorders
ofmagnitude,notwithstandingthatthecoveredareaislimitedtothecomplex.Itis
importanttomentionthatthewholeareaconsideredalsoincludesseveralothersites
whicharestillnotdigitallydocumented,atleastatalocallevel.However,integrationof
suchadditionalsitesinthesameprojectisfeasibleandallowstheusertocreateasingle
H‐BIM‐GISwithvariablelevelsofdetailinmultiplelocationsstoredindifferent
proposals.Overall,theH‐BIM‐GISmustbeintendedasadynamicenvironmentwhere
newinformationcanbeaddednotonlylimitedtotheconsideredcomplex,butalsofor
otherbuildingsandsites.
AdditionalimagesofthefaçadewerecapturedwithaframecameraNikonD610with
acalibrated35mmlens.Inthisway,detailedorthophotosoftheexteriorelevationswere
Heritage2021,4,43340
created.SuchimagesarenotdirectlyintegratedintotheBIM‐GISbutarestoredina
separatefolder.AlandmarkisaddedtotheBIM‐GISenvironmenttoindicatethe
availabilityofverticalorthophotos.ThelandmarkfileisapointESRIshapefileinwhich
theattributetablecontainsinformationaboutthestoragefolder.PointsinArcGISarethen
parametrizedaspoint‐of‐interestinInfraWorks.
(a)
(b)
Figure8.Digitalelevationmodel(a)andhigh‐resolutionorthophoto(b)fromdroneimages
(proposal3).
Asetoflaserscanswasalsocapturedtosupportthecreationofa3Dmodel,which
wasgeneratedinCinema4Dusingamanualmodelingapproach.The3Dmodelwas
texturedwithphotographstoobtainaphotorealisticvisualization.Themanualmodelwas
generatedusingbothsimple(planes)andadvancedsurfacesbasedonNURBS(Non‐
uniformrationalbasisspline)toaccuratelymodelthesurfacesofthecomplexwithout
usingheavymeshes.Both(manual)modelandthegeoreferencedpointcloudcanbe
importedintoInfraWorks.
4.3.Photogrammetrywith360°SphericalImages
360°imagescanbeusednotonlyforthephotographicdocumentationofbuildings
andsitesbutalsoforphotogrammetricapplicationsandvirtualreality.Previouswork
[34–37]demonstratedthatasequenceof360°images(alsocalledsphericalimages,
panoramas,orequirectangularprojections)canbephotogrammetricallyprocessedto
extractmetricinformation.Thesphericalcameramodelissupportedbydifferent
commercialsoftwaree.g.,AgisoftMetashapeorPi×4DCapture.Dataprocessingisbased
onaworkflowlikethemoretraditionalprocessingofframeimages(pinholecamera
model),notwithstandingsignificantdifferencesinbothimageacquisition,image
matchingandadjustmentthatmustbeconsidered.Theprocessstartswiththeextraction
andmatchingofcorrespondingpointsbetweentheimages,andthecalculationofcamera
poses(exteriororientationparameters)and3Dpointcoordinatesviabundleadjustment.
Heritage2021,4,43341
Theprocesscontinueswiththegenerationofadensepointcloud,meshingandtexture
mapping,andorthophotogeneration.
Sphericalimagesarehelpfultoolswhenthespacestobecapturedareclosedrooms,
orlongandnarrowspaceslikecorridors.Asingle360°imagecancapturetheentirespace
aroundthecamera,reducingthenumberofimagesnecessarytorecordtheentirescene
andthetimerequired.Moreover,thecameracanbepointedinanydirection,facilitating
dataacquisitionforoperators.Disadvantagesconsistofthelowerresolutionandmetric
precisionofthefinalmodelwhencomparedtotraditionalphotogrammetrywithframe
cameras,andtheproblemsincontrollingilluminationconditionsunderanangleof360°
thatdoesnotguaranteeuniformlighting.
Themodelcanalsorevealavariablelevelofdetailsdependingoncamera‐object
distancesaswellasthegeometryandnumberofimagesinwhichtheobjectpointis
visible.Somepartscanbecapturedbyseveralimageswithfavorablecamerageometry
andotherscouldbevisibleonlyinafewimageswithweakcamerageometry.
SphericalimageswereusedtoreconstructtheinterioroftheBasilica,includingthe
cryptdownstairs.ImageswereacquiredwithaSamsung360°,whichcancapturestereo‐
pairsoffrontandrearimagesbasedonthefisheyecameramodelthatarestitchedto
produceasingleequirectangularprojection.Theuseofsomecontrolpointsallowedusto
georeferencetheextractedmodelandpointclouds.Althoughmetricaccuracycannot
reachtheresultswithamoretraditionalphotogrammetricapproach(theuseofframe‐
basedcameras),sphericalphotogrammetryprovidedareconstructionwithalimitedset
ofimagesandshortdataacquisitionandprocessingtime.
Inthecaseoftheinteriorofthechurch(Figure9,top),dataacquisitionrequiredonly
lessthan10min.Theprocessingtimetookonly3h.
Figure9.Imagesofthetexturedmodelgeneratedwithsphericalphotogrammetry:theinteriorofthechurch(imageson
top)andthecrypt(imagesonbottom)(proposal4).
Heritage2021,4,43342
4.4.PhotogrammetrywithFisheyeImages
Someelementsofthecomplexwerecapturedwithahigherlevelofdetailusingan
image‐basedmethodbasedonfisheyephotogrammetry[38,39].Fisheyelensesofferwider
fieldsofviewthanframelenses,andtheycanbemountedoncamerabodiesfeaturing
highgeometricandradiometricresolution.Ifthespacetobedocumentedrequiresmany
imagesandthelevelofdetailcannotbeachievedwithsphericalpanoramas,fisheye
photogrammetrycanbecomeapowerfulsolutionatanintermediatelevelbetween
photogrammetrywithsphericalandframecameras.
Thefisheyecameramodelisavailableinsomecommercialsoftware(suchas
Metashape,Pix4D,andContextCapture)thatcancreate3Dmodelswithautomatic
processingmethods.Aftercapturingasetofimageswithgoodgeometryandsufficient
overlap,thedifferentstepsofthemodelingworkflowcanberun:imageorientation,dense
matchingforpointcloudgenerationandsurfaceextractionusingamesh,andtexture
mapping.Inthecaseofafisheyelens,theshortfocallengthcoupledwithsignificant
distortionrequiredreliablecalibration(apriori)[40].TheusedcamerawasaNikonD610
witha16mmNikkorfisheye,whichwascalibratedbeforehandwithaphotogrammetric
projectfeaturingageometrysuitableforcameracalibration(i.e.,highlyconvergent
imagestakenwithavariablecamera‐objectdistanceandrollvariations).
InthecaseofthedigitalrecordingprojectattheBasilica,fisheyephotogrammetry
wasusedtoreconstructtheentranceofthecomplex.Thespacebetweenfaçadeandnave
hostsakindofnarthexwithacorridorandtwosmallapses,featuringrichdecorations
suchasfrescoesandstuccos.Asetof84imageswassufficienttocapturetheentirespace
inabout15min,whichwereprocessedinContextCapturetogenerateatextured3D
model.Dataprocessingwascarriedoutimportingandfixingcalibrationparameters.A
setofcontrolpointsincartographiccoordinateswasusedtogeoreferencethefinalmodel,
whichcanbeimportedintoInfraWorks.Figure10showssomeimagesofthefinalmodel.
Figure10.Someimagesofthetextured3Dmodelgeneratedwithfisheyephotogrammetry(proposal4).
5.ConsiderationsandOutlooks
5.1.AnInteroperablePlatformforMultipleSpecialists
Althoughmetricdataarefundamentalforprojectsrelatedtoheritageconservation
andrestoration,the“I”ofinformationinbothBIMandGISmustisnotlimitedtothe
datasetsshownintheprevioussections.Differentspecialists(architects,archeologists,
Heritage2021,4,43343
conservators,engineers,historians,restorers,geologists,etc.)involvedinconservation
projectscouldrequireaccess,retrieval,orpublicationofvariousdigitaldataindifferent
formats,includinginformationthatcouldnotbedirectlygeoreferenced.
TheH‐BIM‐GIScouldbeexploitedasacommonplatformfordifferentpurposesand
multiplespecialists.Otheravailablesourcescanbedirectlyincorporatedintothesystem
orcanbelinkedtoitusingstrategiessuchaspointsofinterest,whichcanbegeneratedin
InfraWorksorArcGISPro.InthecaseofcreationinGIS,thepointofinterest(POI)isa
pointshapefilewithassociatedinformationintheattributetablethatcanbetransferred
toInfraWorks,addingthespecificparametrizationasPOI.
Anexamplewastheintegrationofavirtualtourofthecomplex,whichwas
independentlycreatedwith3DVistaandasetof360°imagestakenwithaXiaomiMi
SphereCamera.Thevirtualtoolisavailableasanexecutablefilethatcanbelinkedtothe
systemandrunasanindependentapplication.Alternatively,specificPOIcouldbe
generatedinthegeoreferencedenvironmentusingicons.Theusercanactivatethislayer
andalinktoasharedversionofthepanoramicimageisavailableusinganonlinestorage
service,provinganimmersiveviewinawebbrowser(Figure11).

Figure11.Some360°imagesinthevirtualtourareavailableasanexecutablefile(exterior,church,andcrypt)andthe
locationofimagesinInfraWorkswithaPOIthatallowstheusertoopentheimmersivevisualization.
Anotherexampleistheconnectiontothemodelofhistoricphotographsduring
restorationworks.Also,specificPOIscanbeaddedtothemodeltoinformtheuserabout
theavailabilityofsuchimages.InthecaseofFigure12(top),picturesontopshowthe
restorationcarriedoutinsideasmallapse,afterandbeforetheintervention[41].The
imageonthebottomisthe3Dtexturedmodelfromfisheyephotogrammetryshowing
actualconditions.Themodelcouldalsobeusedtogenerateorthophotos.Inthiscase,the
surfacecouldbeapproximatedwithacylinder,andthetexturedmeshcanbeunrolledto
createorthophotosthatdonotdeformareas.
Heritage2021,4,43344
(a)
(b)
Figure12.Otherinformationthatwasaddedconsistsofretrievalofinformationrelatedtothepreviousrestoration.The
imageshowstheleftapsebeforeandafterrestoration(a).Thetextured3Dmodelshowingactualconditionsisshownon
thebottom(b).
5.2.WorkingwithMultipleProjectProposals
Projectproposalsallowadifferentwaytostoremultipleversionsofthemodelinthe
sameenvironment.Theworkdescribedintheprevioussectionintroducedapossible
subdivisionofthedatainto“proposal1”(thepreliminarysolutiongeneratedwithModel
Builder),and“proposal2”(therefinedmodelbasedonalocalrepositoryofgeospatial
data).Additionalproposalsweregeneratedtoincludeavarietyofinformationfromthe
insitusurvey(3Dmodelsfromphotogrammetryandlaserscanning),virtualreality,
picturesfrompreviousrestorations,documentationfromtextbooksandpapers,etc.
Thesystemcanautomaticallyswitchfromthedifferentproposalswithoutchanging
thepointofviewoftheobserver.Thisisusefultogenerateavisualizationofthechanges
thatoccurredbetweenthedifferentprojects.Itcanalsobeusedtoshowchangesbetween
differentversionsofthemonument,e.g.,afterandbeforerestorationinterventions.
Datacanalsobetransferred(copiedandmoved)betweendifferentproposals.Figure
13showsthemodelbasedonModelBuilderwiththe3Dmodelofthecomplexgenerated
withdigitalphotogrammetry.
Heritage2021,4,43345
(a)
(b)
Figure13.Some3Dvisualizationsofthemodelobtainedmixingdifferentproposals:(a)viewfromthebasilica,and(b)
viewfromthecityatthebottomofthemountain.
The3Dmodelofthecomplexhasamuchhigherlevelofdetailthanotherbuildings
intheproject,whicharestillrepresentedwithsimpleboxescreatedusinganextrusionof
thebase.Theavailabilityofaprojectorganizedintoproposalsallowsuserstoinclude
moredetailsintoanovelsolutionlayerwithoutlosingthesimplifiedgeometryofthe
complexthatcouldbestillusefulforgeospatialoperations.Atthesametime,ifnew3D
modelsbecomeavailable,theycanbeinsertedintotheprojectwithoutoverwriting
informationatlower‐leveldetails.
Heritage2021,4,43346
6.Conclusions
ThispaperillustratedanddiscussedthecreationofanH‐BIM‐GIS,whichisintended
asa3Denvironmentabletohandlecartographicdataalongwithotherinformation
acquiredatthelevelofthebuilding.ThemethodextendstraditionalGISorBIM
approachesusingamulti‐scaleapproach,inwhichspatialconsistencyisprovidedusing
georeferencingtechniques.
Differentdatasetswereintegratedintotheplatform.DigitalmapstypicaloftheGIS
systemcanbedirectlyimportedusingtheavailablegeoreferencinginformation.Metric
dataacquiredin‐situ(laserscans,3Dmodels,etc.)generatedwithdifferentmethodscan
alsobedirectlyimportedifgeoreferenced.TheuseofaGNSSreceiverallowsthe
measurementofspecificpointsinacartographicreferencesystemsothatthedifferent
localproductscanbegeoreferencedusingsuchpoints.Finally,someexamplesof
integrationofinformationwithoutgeoreferencinginformation(suchasdocuments,
reports,historicphotographs,etc.)wereshowninordertodemonstratehowsuchdata
canbeconnectedtothemodelusingPOIs.
Theapproachreliesontwosoftwarepackages(InfraWorks,ArcGISPro)thatare
simultaneouslyexploitedtocopewithreciprocalprosandcons.Thesoftwarecanshare
datausingtraditionalimport/exporttoolsaswellasmoredirectdataexchangeusing
onlineservices(ArcGISOnline,ConnectorforArcGIS).Itistheauthors’opinionthatthe
useofthisinterconnectedsoftwareprovidesseveraltoolsandmoreopportunitiesfor
advancedanalysis,notwithstandingthatmoresoftwarerequiresmoreresourcesand
technicalskills.
Theorganizationoftheprojectbasedonproposalsisalsoanovelsolutioncompared
totraditionalapproachesinwhichasingleversionofthemodelcanbestoredinthefile.
Multipleproposalswerehereusedtokeepthepreliminaryandenhancedversionsofthe
model.Datacanalsobetransferredfromthedifferentproposals,resultinginauseful
solutionwhenthemodelmustservethepurposesofdifferentspecialistswhocould
requiredifferenttypologiesofdata.
Futureworkisrequiredtoimproveinteroperabilitybetweenthesoftware.Ifdatacan
betransferredfromdifferentenvironments(withoutgeneratingredundantcopies),tools
andfunctionsavailableinspecificsoftware(suchasgeospatialanalysistoolsinGIS)can
beexploitedwithouttheneedofreimplementingthemindifferentpackages.Additional
issuesalsoconcerntherigidstructureofthesoftware,whichtendtobemainlyoriented
tomoremodernconstructions(includinginfrastructureinthecaseofInfraWorks).
Indeed,historicbuildingsandsitesoftenfeaturepeculiarcharacteristicsthatcannotbe
handledbyparametricmodelingtoolsdevelopedforregularelements.
AuthorContributions:Conceptualization,L.B.andF.R.;methodology,L.B.andF.R.;software,L.B.;
validation,L.B.,F.R.writing,L.B.;writing—reviewandediting,L.B.Allauthorshavereadand
agreedtothepublishedversionofthemanuscript.
Funding:Thisresearchreceivednoexternalfunding.
InstitutionalReviewBoardStatement:Notapplicable.
InformedConsentStatement:Notapplicable.
DataAvailabilityStatement:NotApplicable
Acknowledgments:TheauthorswanttoacknowledgetheAssociazioneAmicidiSanPietroal
Monte,whichprovidedaccesstothesiteandsupportduringthedifferentyearsinwhichthework
hasbeenconducted.Wewouldlikealsotothanksomecolleaguesandstudentsthatparticipatedin
someacquisitioncampaigns:ValenteR.,SalaM.,E.Ambrosini,ZhivkovikjB.,CanaliD.,Mainetti
F.,RizziE.
ConflictsofInterest:Theauthorsdeclarenoconflictsofinterest.
Heritage2021,4,43347
References
1. Murphy,M.;McGovern,E.;Pavia,S.HistoricBuildingInformationModelling(HBIM).Struct.Surv.2009,27,311–327.
2. Murphy,M.;McGovern,E.;Pavia,S.HistoricBuildingInformationModelling—AddingIntelligencetoLaserandImageBased
SurveysofEuropeanClassicalArchitecture.ISPRSJ.Photogramm.RemoteSens.2013,76,89–102,
doi:10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2012.11.006.
3. Murphy,M.;McGovern,E.;Pavia,S.ParametricVectorModellingofLaserandImageSurveysof17thCenturyClassical
ArchitectureinDublin.InProceedingsofthe8thInternationalSymposiumonVirtualReality,ArchaeologyandCultural
HeritageVAST,Brighton,UK,26–30November2007,6p
4. Chiabrando,F.;Sammartano,G.;Spanò,A.HistoricalBuildingsModelsandTheirHandlingvia3dSurvey:FromPointsClouds
toUser‐OrientedHbim.InProceedingsoftheXXIIIISPRSCongress,Prague,CzechRepublic,12–19July2016;Volume41B5,
pp.633–640,doi:10.5194/isprs‐archives‐XLI‐B5‐633‐2016.
5. Pocobelli,D.;Boehm,J.;Bryan,P.;Still,J.;Grau‐Bové,J.BIMforHeritageScience:AReview.Herit.Sci.2018,6,1–15
doi:10.1186/s40494‐018‐0191‐4.
6. Fassi,F.;Fregonese,L.;Adami,A.;Rechichi,F.BIMSystemForTheConservationAndPreservationOfTheMosaicsOfSan
MarcoInVenice.InProceedingsoftheInternationalArchivesofthePhotogrammetry,RemoteSensingandSpatialInformation
Sciences,Ottawa,ON,Canada,18August2017;VolumeXLII‐2‐W5,pp.229–236.
7. Pybus,C.;Graham,K.;Doherty,J.;Arellano,N.;Fai,S.NewRealitiesForCanada’sParliament:AWorkflowForPreparing
HeritageBimForGameEnginesAndVirtualReality.InProceedingsofthe27thCIPAInternationalSymposium“Documenting
thePastforaBetterFuture”,Ávila,Spain,1–5September2019;VolumeXLII‐2‐W15,pp.945–952.
8. Oreni,D.;Brumana,R.;Torre,S.D.;Banfi,F.;Previtali,M.SurveyTurnedintoHBIM:TheRestorationandtheWorkInvolved
ConcerningtheBasilicaDiCollemaggioaftertheEarthquake(L’Aquila).InProceedingsoftheISPRSTechnicalCommissionV
Symposium,RivadelGarda,Italy,23–25June2014;VolumeII,pp.267–273,doi:10.5194/isprsannals‐II‐5‐267‐2014.
9. ReinaOrtiz,M.;Yang,C.;Weigert,A.;Dhanda,A.;Min,A.;Gyi,M.;Su,S.;Fai,S.;SantanaQuintero,M.Integrating
heterogeneousdatasetsinHBIMofdecoratedsurfaces.InProceedingsofthe27thCIPAInternationalSymposium
“DocumentingthePastforaBetterFuture”,Ávila,Spain, 1–5September2019;Volume42,pp.981–988.
10. Prizeman,O.E.C.HBIMandMatchingTechniques:ConsiderationsforLateNineteenth‐ andEarlyTwentieth‐Century
Buildings.J.Archit.Conserv.2015,21,145–159,doi:10.1080/13556207.2016.1139852.
11. Alshawabkeh,Y.;Baik,A.;Miky,Y.IntegrationofLaserScannerandPhotogrammetryforHeritageBIMEnhancement.ISPRS
Int.J.Geo‐Inf.2021,10,316,doi:10.3390/ijgi10050316.
12. Remondino,F.HeritageRecordingand3DModelingwithPhotogrammetryand3DScanning.RemoteSens.2011,3,1104–1138,
doi:10.3390/rs3061104.
13. Yang,X.;Grussenmeyer,P.;Koehl,M.;Macher,H.;Murtiyoso,A.;Landes,T.ReviewofBuiltHeritageModelling:Integration
ofHBIMandOtherInformationTechniques.J.Cult.Herit.2020,46,350–360,doi:10.1016/j.culher.2020.05.008.
14. Barazzetti,L.;Banfi,F.;Brumana,R.;Previtali,M.CreationofParametricBIMObjectsfromPointCloudsUsingNurbs.
Photogramm.Rec.2015,30,339–362,doi:10.1111/phor.12122.
15. Barazzetti,L.ParametricAs‐BuiltModelGenerationofComplexShapesfromPointClouds.Adv.Eng.Inform.2016,30,298–311,
doi:10.1016/j.aei.2016.03.005.
16. Dore,C.;Murphy,M.Semi‐AutomaticModellingOfBuildingFaçadesWithShapeGrammarsUsingHistoricBuilding
InformationModelling.InProceedingsofthe3D‐ARCH2013—3DVirtualReconstructionandVisualizationofComplex
Architectures,Trento,Italy,25–26February2013;VolumeXL‐5/W1,pp.57–64,doi:10.5194/isprsarchives‐XL‐5‐W1‐57‐2013.
17. Ruoss,E.;Alfare,L.;Vallone,R.;Moscatelli,M.;Zumaglini,M.;Grünner,R.;Klementschitz,R.;Richard,L.GISasToolforCultural
HeritageManagement.Sustainabletourismasdrivingforceforculturalheritagesitesdevelopment;CNRIGAG,Rome,Italy;2013;pp.
42–46.
18. Sharafat,A.;Khan,M.S.;Latif,K.;Tanoli,W.A.;Park,W.;Seo,J.Bim‐Gis‐BasedIntegratedFrameworkforUndergroundUtility
ManagementSystemforEarthworkOperations.Appl.Sci.2021,11,5721,doi:10.3390/app11125721.
19. Garramone,M.;Moretti,N.;Scaioni,M.;Ellul,C.;ReCecconi,F.;Dejaco,M.C.BIMandGISIntegrationforinfrastructureasset
management:Abibliometricanalysis.InProceedingsofthe15th3DGeoInfoConference,London,UK,7–11September2020;
Volume6,pp.77–84.
20. Barazzetti,L.;Banfi,F.BIMandGIS:Whenparametricmodelingmeetsgeospatialdata.InProceedingsoftheISPRSAnnalsof
thePhotogrammetry,RemoteSensingandSpatialInformationSciences,CopernicusGmbH,Kyiv,Ukraine,4–6December2017,
VolumeIV‐5‐W1,pp.1–8.
21. Barazzetti,L.;Previtali,M.;Roncoroni,F.Canweuselow‐cost360degreecamerastocreateaccurate3dmodels?Int.Arch.
Photogramm.RemoteSens.SpatialInf.Sci.2018,42,69–75,doi:10.5194/isprs‐archives‐XLII‐2‐69‐2018.
22. Chiappini,S.;Fini,A.;Malinverni,E.S.;Frontoni,E.;Racioppi,G.;Pierdicca,R.Costeffectivesphericalphotogrammetry:A
novelframeworkforthesmartmanagementofcomplexurbanenvironments.InProceedingsoftheInternationalArchivesof
thePhotogrammetry,RemoteSensingandSpatialInformationSciences,CopernicusGmbH,on‐line,Nice,France,31August‐2
September,2020;VolumeXLIII‐B4‐2020,pp.441–448.
Heritage2021,4,43348
23. Perfetti,L.;Fassi,F.;Rossi,C.Fisheyephotogrammetrytogeneratelow‐costDTMs.InProceedingsoftheInternationalArchives
ofthePhotogrammetry,RemoteSensingandSpatialInformationSciences,CopernicusGmbH,Strasbourg,France,2‐3
December2019;VolumeXLII‐2‐W17,pp.257–263.
24. Strecha,C.;Zoller,R.;Rutishauser,S.;Brot,B.;Schneider‐Zapp,K.;Chovancova,V.;Krull,M.;Glassey,L.Qualityassessment
of3Dreconstructionusingfisheyeandperspectivesensors.InProceedingsofthePIA15+HRIGI15—JointISPRSConference
2015,Munich,Germany,25–27March2015;VoumeII‐3‐W4,pp.215–222.
25. CoordinateSystemsWorldwide(EPSG/ESRI).Availableonline:https://epsg.io/(accessedon31July2021).
26. Wade,T.;Wickham,J.;Nash,M.;Neale,A.;Riitters,K.;Jones,K.AComparisonofVectorandRasterGISMethodsfor
CalculatingLandscapeMetricsUsedinEnvironmentalAssessments.Photogramm.Eng.RemoteSens.2003,69,1399–1405,
doi:10.14358/PERS.69.12.1399.
27. Agapiou,A.;Lysandrou,V.;Alexakis,D.D.;Themistocleous,K.;Cuca,B.;Argyriou,A.;Sarris,A.;Hadjimitsis,D.G.Cultural
HeritageManagementandMonitoringUsingRemoteSensingDataandGIS:TheCaseStudyofPaphosArea,Cyprus.Comput.
Environ.UrbanSyst.2015,54,230–239,doi:10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2015.09.003.
28. Bašić,T.;Varga,M.ABrief(Historical)ReviewonDefinitionsandApplicationsoftheGeoid.InProceedingsoftheXHotine‐
MarussiSymposium,Rome,Italy,18–22June2018.
29. Barzaghi,R.;Borghi,A.;Carrion,D.;Sona,G.RefiningtheEstimateoftheItalianQuasi‐Geoid.Boll.Geod.Sci.Affin.2007,46,
145–160.
30. Roura,P.;Calbó,J.MeasurementoftheEarth’sRadiusBasedonHistoricalEvidenceofItsCurvature.Phys.Educ.2005,40,
doi:10.1088/0031–9120/40/5/006.
31. Karimi,S.;Iordanova,I.IntegrationofBIMandGISforConstructionAutomation,aSystematicLiteratureReview(SLR)
CombiningBibliometricandQualitativeAnalysis.Arch.Computat.MethodsEng.2021,53;41‐52,doi:10.1007/s11831‐021‐09545‐
2.
32. Saghravani,S.R.;Mustapha,S.;Saghravani,S.F.;Ibrahim,S.;Yusoff,M.PerformanceofReal‐TimeKinematicGlobalPositioning
SystemandAutomaticLevelSurveyingforHeightDetermination—AComparison.InProceedingsofthe2009International
ConferenceonSignalAcquisitionandProcessing,KualaLumpur,Malaysia,3–5April2009;p.111.
33. GNSSPositioningServicePortalofRegionePiemonte,RegioneLombardiaandRegioneValled’Aosta.Availableonline:
https://www.spingnss.it/spiderweb/frmIndex.aspx(accessedon30July2021).
34. Hofmann‐Wellenhof,B.;Lichtenegger,H.;Wasle,E.GNSS—GlobalNavigationSatelliteSystems:GPS,GLONASS,Galileo,and
more;Springer:Vienna,Austria,2008;pp.193–276.
35. Fangi,G.;Pierdicca,R.;Sturari,M.;Malinverni,E.S.Improvingsphericalphotogrammetryusing360°omni‐cameras:Usecases
andnewapplications.InProceedingsoftheISPRSTCIIMid‐termSymposium“TowardsPhotogrammetry2020”,Rivadel
Garda,Italy,4–7June2018;VolumeXLII–2,pp.331–337,doi:10.5194/isprs‐archives‐XLII‐2‐331‐2018.
36. Barazzetti,L.;Previtali,M.;Roncoroni,F.3DmodellingwiththeSamsungGear360.InProceedingsoftheInternationalArchives
ofthePhotogrammetry,RemoteSensingandSpatialInformationSciences,CopernicusGmbH,Nafplio,Greece,1–3March2017,
;VolumeXLII‐2‐W3,pp.85–90.
37. Kwiatek,K.;Tokarczyk,R.PhotogrammetricApplicationsofImmersiveVideoCameras.InProceedingsoftheISPRSTechnical
CommissionVSymposium,RivadelGarda,Italy,23–25June2014;VolumeII–5,pp.211–218,doi:10.5194/isprsannals‐II‐5‐211‐
2014.
38. Barazzetti,L.;Previtali,M.;Roncoroni,F.;Valente,R.Connectinginsideandoutsidethrough360°imageryforclose‐range
photogrammetry.InProceedingsofthe8thIntl.Workshop3D‐ARCH“3DVirtualReconstructionandVisualizationofComplex
Architectures”,Bergamo,Italy,6–8February2019,;VolumeXLII‐2‐W9,pp.87–92.
39. Perfetti,L.;Polari,C.;Fassi,F.Fisheyephotogrammetry:Testsandmethodologiesforthesurveyofnarrowspaces.In
ProceedingsoftheInternationalArchivesofthePhotogrammetry,RemoteSensingandSpatialInformationSciences,
CopernicusGmbH,Nafplio,Greece,1–3March2017,;VolumeXLII‐2‐W3,pp.573–580.
40. Barazzetti,L.;Previtali,M.;Roncoroni,F.Fisheyelensesfor3dmodeling:Evaluationsandconsiderations.InProceedingsofthe
ISPRS—InternationalArchivesofthePhotogrammetry,RemoteSensingandSpatialInformationSciences2017;Nafplio,Greece,
1–3March2017,;VolumeXLII‐2/W3,pp.79–84,doi:10.5194/isprs‐archives‐XLII‐2‐W3‐79‐2017.
41. Perfetti,L.;Polari,C.;Fassi,F.Fisheyemulti‐camerasystemcalibrationforsurveyingnarrowandcomplexarchitectures.In
ProceedingsoftheInternationalArchivesofthePhotogrammetry,RemoteSensingandSpatialInformationSciences,
CopernicusGmbH,,RivadelGarda,Italy,4–7June2018;VolumeXLII–2,pp.877–883.
... A WebGIS is limited by the ability to visualize large, complex and large, polygonal models [32], but thanks to WebGL and graphics-processing power, today, 3D scenes are loaded faster and smoother than what happened some years ago on the web, providing more intuitive ways for understanding [11]. Alongside 3D visualizations in a WebGIS, virtual reality (VR) visualization is supported [11,42,43], and recently, machine learning algorithms have been combined with a WebGIS to predict landslide risk [44], observe traffic behavior through social media data [45], detect and quantify forest damage [46], and evaluate hotel locations [47]. Additionally, real-time data can be collected and displayed in WebGIS applications, creating smart workflows and expanding the potentialities of collaborative works [11], like taking advantage of the acquisition of crowdsourcing data [13]. ...
... For the City of Turin map, the same approach was followed, using the spline transformation with 64 points. 42 Since ArcGIS Online is based on the WGS 1984 Web Mercator (Auxiliary Sphere) as a reference system (EPSG:3857) 43 -a conformal projection preserving shape and directions but altering area and distances 44 -this system was used for the creation of raster and vector datasets. The raster files were converted locally from WGS84 UTM 32N (EPSG:32632) to Web Mercator in ArcGIS Pro using the Project Raster geoprocessing tool. ...
3D WebGIS for Ephemeral Architecture Documentation and Studies in the Humanities
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2024
The documentation and visualization of ephemeral CH, especially for World’s Fairs architecture, remains a neglected endeavor on the global scale. While digital products like 3D models find extensive application in CH, the use of a WebGIS has scarcely been explored in this domain. When a WebGIS is used for CH, it serves to communicate the output of research, not as a tool to support the development of the research itself. Moreover, aspects like procedural development for the creation of a WebGIS platform, its upgrading, and its long-term preservation are key factors for the maintenance of the digital tool, but they have scarcely been considered in the literature. Through the Turin 1911 project, this paper defines a procedure for the creation of a WebGIS for ephemeral architectural documentation, showing how a WebGIS platform can be designed, implemented, tested, and maintained. The novelty of this study lies in the creation of a 2D/3D WebGIS based on a tailored spatial database; the WebGIS is coupled with a dedicated website for the constant updating of the research data documenting the Turin 1911 International Exposition. The discussion emphasizes the transformative role of a WebGIS in not only sharing information but also serving as a dynamic platform for conducting digital humanities studies in 3D environments.
View
... Currently, it has become a trend to apply 3D digital technology to help the research of cultural heritages. The research contents of cultural heritage digitalization cover digital mapping [1], model reconstruction [2][3], digital archiving and management [4][5], cultural heritage application practice [6][7], cultural heritage protection and analysis [8][9], etc. For example, digital surveying and mapping can be carried out using technologies such as oblique photography, laser scanning and aerial remote sensing; computers or modeling software are used to reconstruct 3D model automatically or manually or in a combination of both [10][11]; digital archiving and management of cultural heritages are carried out with the help of these information management systems based on semantic data such as GIS and BIM [12][13][14]; the application practice of using VR, AR, Unity, UE, etc. to realize immersive interactive experience is performed; as well as based on digital technologies such as 3D scanning, reconstruction and virtual reality, the material detection, structural analysis, natural disaster risk assessment [15][16] and heritage monitoring [17] of cultural heritage are conducted. ...
A quantitative analysis method on the scale, shape and quantity of rockeries in Chinese classical gardens - Taking Wanfang Anhe Rockery in the Old Summer Palace as an example
Preprint
Full-text available
  • Oct 2023
Currently, the use of digital technology for the protection and research of cultural heritages has become a trend in this field. These rockeries in Chinese classical gardens have become an important cultural heritage type because of unique shape, ingenious skills and rich connotations. The research difficulty lies in how to objectively describe, quantitatively analyze and evaluate such rockeries in an accurate way. Based on relevant historical information and 3D digital technology, this paper puts forward a quantitative analysis method on the scale, shape and quantity of rockeries in Chinese classical gardens, aiming at exploring the objective description and quantitative analysis path of rockeries at different levels, and taking Wanfang Anhe Rockery in the Old Summer Palace as an example for objective and comprehensive quantitative analysis and verification. Such method is based on quantitative analysis and fine management, and is carried out from four levels, i.e. overall, regional, hierarchical and individual. The above method is used to quantitatively analyze and verify Wanfang Anhe Rockery, wherein the overall scale of such rockery is determined based on the viewing position and viewing line of sight, the regional data show that the precipice area (B) and the drop area (D) are the main areas for rockery construction, Area D is divided into two hierarchies through slices and elevations and Area B is divided into three hierarchies at the hierarchical level, as well as at the individual level, there are 336 rocks in total in this rockery and 275 rocks in Area B, and all the viewing range, overall rockery height, material characteristics and stacking mode have a strong impact on the scale of individual rocks. This method is feasible and effective for quantitative analysis of the scale, shape and quantity of rockeries, which can help understand the basic background of stone rockeries and enhance a refined understanding of stone rockery construction, thereby providing data for preventive protection and informatization management of stone rockeries. The 3D rockery model database based on the overall, regional, hierarchical and individual quantitative analysis and numbering method brings a good application prospect for preventive protection and informatization management of the rockery.
View
... These approaches employ geospatial databases that can store various alphanumeric, raster and vector information (all of them properly georeferenced), perform multi-criteria and spatiotemporal analysis, and generate thematic maps [32]. Several authors refer to GIS and BIM applied to architectural heritage as Heritage GIS (HGIS) [3,[33][34][35][36] and Historical BIM (HBIM) [23,27,33,[37][38][39][40][41]. HGIS is generally applied for inventorying, carrying out spatial analyses and defining policies and strategies for heritage preservation at the city or territorial level. ...
GIS-based inventory for safeguarding and promoting Portuguese glazed tiles cultural heritage
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2023
Innovative, non-invasive, digital, and cost-effective instruments for systematic inventory, monitoring and promotion are a valuable resource for managing tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Due to its powerful and effective inventory and analysis potential, which allows supporting central and local entities responsible for cultural heritage management, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have proven to be an appropriate information technology for developing these kinds of instruments. Given the above, this work aims to introduce a GIS-based instrument to support inventorying, safeguarding, tourism, and cultural promotion of the traditional Portuguese glazed tile (‘azulejo’, in Portuguese) to raise general awareness of the importance of this unique Portuguese heritage. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no other instrument available with inventory and safeguarding management functions that is accessible and affordable, developed to be used at a municipal level and that contributes to the enrichment of the cultural and tourist information. Information from 70 tile works located in the Portuguese city of Covilhã was used to test the proposed GIS tool, resulting in a georeferenced alphanumeric, graphical, image and drawing inventory and in three pedestrian routes for touristic and cultural heritage promotion. The results were validated by both the research team and the municipality of Covilhã, foreseeing its expansion and daily use in the management of the heritage of the traditional Portuguese glazed tile. The proposed instrument can be replicated in other locations and easily implemented and managed by municipalities or institutions dealing with the protection of cultural heritage.
View
... La integración de ambas favorece la creación de una base de datos completa capaz de gestionar modelos 3D enriquecidos semánticamente en un entorno espacial (Saygi et al., 2013). Para ello, el uso de estándares de (Centofanti et al., 2012), más recientemente CHIMERA (Bruno et al., 2020) y protocolos de integración aplicados a la Gran Torre de Oristano (Vacca et al., 2018), o en el caso de estudio de San Pietro al Monte (Barazzetti et al., 2021). ...
Metodologías para el desarrollo de una base de datos gráfica del patrimonio arquitectónico
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2023
The technological advances that have been produced thanks to the development of data capture and processing tools related to architectural heritage have modified the work methodology. The incorporation of complex three-dimensional models in Information Systems favors the processing and analysis of data in a common support that facilitates accessibility and consultation, as well as the adoption of decisions related to the model. The different technologies and methodologies that allow information to be managed in the same model, such as HBIM (Historic Building Information Modelling), WebGL technology or Geographic Information Systems (GIS), have been analyzed in order to establish the possibilities that each one of them contribute to the graphic documentation of heritage as a means to preserve its cultural values. The evaluation has made it possible to establish its essential needs for interoperability and accessibility through the use of standardization and normalization.
View
... This paper proposes that the construction of a digital preservation system for classical gardens can be based on the garden space ontology after data collection, processing, analysis, and management. Although the building information model (BIM) [36,42,43] and the historical building information model (HBIM) [37,[44][45][46] are worth learning, BIM is mainly aimed at the whole life cycle and regular elements of the building and the production and application of the database [42]. However, there are a large number of irregular and dynamic elements in gardens aside from buildings such as plants and waterscapes as well as the relationship between different regions and elements, which increases the difficulty of establishing a model for management. ...
Digital Preservation of Du Fu Thatched Cottage Memorial Garden
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2023
The Xishu Historical and Cultural Celebrity Memorial Gardens are representatives of southwestern regional gardens in China. Du Fu Thatched Cottage is one of the typical examples of these gardens, with exceptional memorial, historical, and cultural significance. However, compared to other gardens in China, few research has been conducted on their digital preservation and construction connotation. In this study, the digital model of Du Fu Thatched Cottage was obtained by terrestrial laser scanning and total station technology, and its memorial analysis and preservation were studied digitally. Using three levels of point, line, and surface analysis, we examined how to digitally deconstruct the commemorative elements of Du Fu Thatched Cottage that included the memorial theme, gardening components, and design philosophy of the garden space. The study revealed the memorial space core of the Historical and Cultural Celebrity Memorial Gardens in Xishu and proposed a strategy for building a digital preservation system. The research will help to digitally protect the Du Fu Thatched Cottage and analyze methods to memorialize other traditional gardens.
View
View
HBIM-GIS Integration: From Blueprints to Metadata for Managing Contemporary Architectural Heritage in a Multiscale 3D GIS
Chapter
  • Jun 2024
One of the pressing challenges in managing contemporary architectural heritage lies in the need for more informative and intelligent models grounded in precise data capture techniques. These models play a crucial role in optimizing management activities, particularly in the realms of documentation and maintenance. To address these challenges, various technologies have emerged, including geometry capture techniques like photogrammetry and 3D digital scanning, semantic modeling, and the integration of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Building Information Modeling (BIM). This paper highlights the advantages of applying BIM and GIS in heritage management, emphasizing the need for interoperability between the two systems. Integrating Historic Building Information Modeling (HBIM) and GIS involves extracting and transforming geometric and semantic information, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of historic buildings' architectural, structural, and functional characteristics. Overcoming data loss during the transfer between software and structuring information through standards are critical challenges in achieving effective integration. The paper presents a case study on integrating HBIM and GIS to manage digital data and information on architectural heritage, specifically focusing on the University Religious Center (URC) in Los Angeles. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of data integration software, investigate the benefits of the HBIM-GIS model in heritage management, and establish a workflow for preserving and managing architectural heritage maintenance activities.
View
View
Slope visualization and stability study using GIS technology and UAV
Article
  • Oct 2023
High-precision visualized 3D slope modeling and stability analysis have benefited from the quick development of big data technology. The research aims to utilize unmanned aerial vehicle survey data to obtain influencing information on slope topography. A high-precision three-dimensional surface model is established, which is then overlaid with three-dimensional geological models and three-dimensional mineral models constructed using Geographic Information System technology. This approach enables more efficient and accurate three-dimensional visualization modeling of slopes. Based on the 3D model, the search for the most dangerous sliding surface under the rainfall conditions is completed. The average absolute error of sample points in the surface modeling effect verification experiment is less than 0.5 m and the average relative error is less than 2%. These results indicate that the overall modeling effect of 3D slope model can meet the requirements of subsequent stability analysis. According to the results of random simulation, the minimum safety factor on the most neutral surfaces is less than 1, which indicates that the slopes at some locations in this site do have the possibility of landslide. The neutral surface where the least safety factor appears can be used to pinpoint the position of the most hazardous sliding surface.
View
Los Sistemas de Documentación como instrumento de conservación del Patrimonio Arquitectónico. Experiencias en España y Europa
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2023
La documentación del Patrimonio Cultural es el acto de recopilar, organizar y gestionar la información y la documentación de los bienes que acreditan su existencia. Además, su función principal es la de servir de apoyo para las acciones de protección, conservación, valorización y difusión. Utilizando las experiencias de España y Europa, el artículo analiza la historia de los registros documentales del patrimonio arquitectónico y el avance tecnológico y metodológico necesario para asegurar que los sistemas de documentación sean accesibles y útiles para las labores de gestión y conservación del patrimonio. La incorporación de estándares internacionales de inventariado y documentación, así como la utilización de ontologías y tesauros favorece el intercambio de información entre bases de datos además de propiciar su actualización y mantenimiento. Se pretende con ello actualizar los Sistemas de Documentación nacionales con el fin de favorecer la integración con otras bases de datos internacionales y así compartir el conocimiento entre profesionales de diferentes ámbitos culturales.
View
BIM-GIS-Based Integrated Framework for Underground Utility Management System for Earthwork Operations
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2021
Underground utilities are important assets that provide basic services for society’s daily life. They are generally very complex and remain unnoticed until they fail due to any particular reason. The stakeholders involved in the design, construction, and maintenance of utility infrastructure face many problems due to the traditional underground utility management system, resulting in injuries, loss of life, disruptions, project delays, and financial loss. The problem with the traditional system is that it uses 2D drawings and keeps unreliable information or a lack of updated information, which makes it an inefficient utility management system. With the advancement in construction information technology, we can address this effectively by integrating BIM and GIS. In this paper, a novel integrated BIM-GIS framework for underground utility management systems was developed on the basis of IFC to CityGML mapping. It provides an effective underground utility management system that facilitates designers in optimization of the design, assists in the excavator’s operator by providing real-time three-dimensional spatial information during the construction process, and acts as an as-built information database for utility facility management. For validation, a real-time project case study indicated that the proposed system can effectively provide comprehensive underground utility information at different project stages.
View
Integration of Laser Scanner and Photogrammetry for Heritage BIM Enhancement
Preprint
Full-text available
  • May 2021
  • ISPRS
Citation: Alshawabkeh, Y.; Baik, A.; Miky, Y. Integration of Laser Scanner and Photogrammetry for Heritage BIM Enhancement. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10, 316. https://
View
BIM AND GIS INTEGRATION FOR INFRASTRUCTURE ASSET MANAGEMENT: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS
Conference Paper
Full-text available
  • Sep 2020
The integration of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is gaining momentum in digital built Asset Management (AM), and has the potential to improve information management operations and provide advantages in process control and delivery of quality AM services, along with underlying data management benefits through entire life cycle of an asset. Work has been carried out relating GeoBIM/AM to buildings as well as infrastructure assets, where the potential financial savings are extensive. While information form BIM maybe be sufficient for building-AM; for infrastructure AM a combination of GIS and BIM is required. Scientific literature relating to this topic has been growing in recent years and has now reached a point where a systematic analysis of current and potential uses of GeoBIM in AM for Infrastructure is possible. Three specific areas form part of the analysis-a review of BIM and Infrastructure AM and GIS and Infrastructure AM leads to a better understanding of current practice. Combining the two, a review of GeoBIM and Infrastructure AM allows the benefits of, and issues relating to, GeoBIM to be clearly identified, both at technical and operational levels. A set of 54 journal articles was selected for in-depth contents analysis according to the AM function addressed and the managed asset class. The analysis enabled the identification of three categories of issues and opportunities: data management, interoperability and integration and AM process and service management. The identified knowledge gaps, in turn, underpin problem definition for the next phases of research into GeoBIM for infrastructure AM.
View
COST EFFECTIVE SPHERICAL PHOTOGRAMMETRY: A NOVEL FRAMEWORK FOR THE SMART MANAGEMENT OF COMPLEX URBAN ENVIRONMENTS
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2020
The development and urban planning of a modern city, nowadays, should be entrusted on the implementation of methods and techniques which require a management of complex information. The final goal is to support local authorities for the decision making. Finding data that are often heterogeneous but nevertheless connected to each other is useful to create a virtuous management model based on an empirical and objective study system. It will therefore be important to develop a system of data retrieval, analysis and management as accurate as possible, usable by all the actors involved in the governance of the territories. The article focuses on the implementation of an effective workflow for the management of complex urban data, the final goal of such framework, is the creation of a Smart City 3D Platform capable of providing innovative services for tax assessment and collection. In particular, it investigates over the potential of using spherical photogrammetry, to guarantee fast, low-cost and reliable acquisition time. The resulting 3D model has been then georeferenced with GNSS coordinates to ensure the desired precision, while the assessment of the model has been done using laser scanner data as a ground truth. The point cloud obtained from the processing can be managed and edited in a WEBGIS, which merges 2D (cadastral register) and 3D (point cloud) data. The project is the result of the collaboration between the Università Politecnica delle Marche and the Company Andreani Tributi srl, with the aim of collecting information about the advertising structures present in the city of Brescia (Italy) for tax assessment.
View
CAN WE USE LOW-COST 360 DEGREE CAMERAS TO CREATE ACCURATE 3D MODELS?
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2018
360 degree cameras capture the whole scene around a photographer in a single shot. Cheap 360 cameras are a new paradigm in photogrammetry. The camera can be pointed to any direction, and the large field of view reduces the number of photographs. This paper aims to show that accurate metric reconstructions can be achieved with affordable sensors (less than 300 euro). The camera used in this work is the Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere 360, which has a cost of about 300 USD (January 2018). Experiments demonstrate that millimeter-level accuracy can be obtained during the image orientation and surface reconstruction steps, in which the solution from 360° images was compared to check points measured with a total station and laser scanning point clouds. The paper will summarize some practical rules for image acquisition as well as the importance of ground control points to remove possible deformations of the network during bundle adjustment, especially for long sequences with unfavorable geometry. The generation of orthophotos from images having a 360° field of view (that captures the entire scene around the camera) is discussed. Finally, the paper illustrates some case studies where the use of a 360° camera could be a better choice than a project based on central perspective cameras. Basically, 360° cameras become very useful in the survey of long and narrow spaces, as well as interior areas like small rooms.
View
IMPROVING SPHERICAL PHOTOGRAMMETRY USING 360° OMNI-CAMERAS: USE CASES AND NEW APPLICATIONS
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2018
During the last few years, there has been a growing exploitation of consumer-grade cameras allowing one to capture 360° images. Each device has different features and the choice should be entrusted on the use and the expected final output. The interest on such technology within the research community is related to its use versatility, enabling the user to capture the world with an omnidirectional view with just one shot. The potential is huge and the literature presents many use cases in several research domains, spanning from retail to construction, from tourism to immersive virtual reality solutions. However, the domain that could the most benefit is Cultural Heritage (CH), since these sensors are particularly suitable for documenting a real scene with architectural detail. Following the previous researches conducted by Fangi, which introduced its own methodology called Spherical Photogrammetry (SP), the aim of this paper is to present some tests conducted with the omni-camera Panono 360° which reach a final resolution comparable with a traditional camera and to validate, after almost ten years from the first experiment, its reliability for architectural surveying purposes. Tests have been conducted choosing as study cases Santa Maria della Piazza and San Francesco alle scale Churches in Ancona, Italy, since they were previously surveyed and documented with SP methodology. In this way, it has been possible to validate the accuracy of the new survey, performed by means an omni-camera, compared with the previous one for both outdoor and indoor scenario. The core idea behind this work is to validate if this new sensor can replace the standard image collection phase, speeding up the process, assuring at the same time the final accuracy of the survey. The experiment conducted demonstrate that, w.r.t. the SP methodology developed so far, the main advantage in using 360° omni-directional cameras lies on increasing the rapidity of acquisition and panorama creation phases. Moreover, in order to foresee the implications that a wide adoption of fast and agile tools of acquisition could bring within the CH domain, points cloud have been generated with the same panoramas and visualized in a WEB application, to allow a result dissemination between the users.
View
BIM for heritage science: a review
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2018
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a new process that is spreading in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction field. It allows the creation of virtual building models, which can be linked to numerical data, texts, images, and other types of information. Building components, such as walls, floors, etc. are modelled as “smart objects”, i.e. they are defined by numerical parameters, such as dimensions, and are embedded with other kinds of information, such as building materials and properties. Stored data are accessible and modifiable by all different professionals involved in the same project. The BIM process has been developed for new buildings, and it allows to plan and manage the whole building life-cycle. BIM for built heritage has started to be researched recently, and its use is still not widespread. Indeed, built heritage is characterised by complex morphology and non-homogeneous features, which clash with BIM’s standardised procedures. Moreover, to date, BIM does not allow fully automated procedures to model heritage buildings. This review focuses on the survey and digitisation phases, which can be seen as the initial phases of application of BIM in conservation projects. It also briefly covers the modelling stage. Here we present the main methodologies developed for BIM for built heritage. Issues about digitisation are also highlighted, principally in connection with the unavailability of automated processes. During the last 10 years, research has led to promising results; for example, videogame interfaces have been used to simulate virtual 3D tours that display in a single interface the 3D model and the database containing metadata, and new software plug-ins have been developed, to easily create “smart objects”. Nevertheless, further research is needed to establish how BIM can support the practice of building conservation. There is a gap in BIM’s information holding capacities, namely the storage of cultural and historical documentation, as well as monitored and simulated data relevant for preventive conservation. Future work should focus on the development of new tools that will be able to store and share all the relevant metadata.
View
FISHEYE LENSES FOR 3D MODELING: EVALUATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2017
Fisheye lenses are becoming more popular in complete image-based modelling projects of small and narrow spaces. The growing interest in fisheye lenses is confirmed by the availability of different commercial software incorporating a fisheye camera model. Such software are now able to carry out the steps of the image processing pipeline in a fully automated way, from camera calibration and orientation to dense matching, surface generation, and orthophoto production. This paper highlights the advantages (and disadvantages) of fisheye lenses when used for 3D modelling projects through different commercial software. The goal is not only a comparison of commercial software, but also an analysis of the additional issues that arise when a fisheye lens is used for 3D modelling. Results confirm that a fisheye lens is suitable for accurate metric documentation, especially when limited space is available. On the other hand, additional issues where found during the camera calibration/image orientation step as well as the texture generation and orthophoto production phases, for which particular attention is required.
View
Integration of BIM and GIS for Construction Automation, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) Combining Bibliometric and Qualitative Analysis
Article
  • Jan 2021
For several decades now, the construction industry is suffering from low productivity, especially in comparison to manufacturing industries which have succeeded to benefit from digitalization of their processes. Furthermore, scarceness of qualified workforce is expected in the near future. Construction automation is introduced as a solution to these challenges. The capabilities of construction robots are improving at an accelerated pace. They are starting to be used in non-laboratory contexts for automating processes ranging from infrastructure inspection to digital fabrication. One fundamental requirement of employing robots in construction is their autonomous positioning. Building information modelling (BIM) and geographic information system (GIS) are now a necessity for the construction projects. Integration between BIM and GIS provides holistic digital representation of the built environment that robots could potentially utilize for positioning purposes. Preceding this research, a number of reviews have been conducted on BIM–GIS integration, but none studied it from automation perspective. This research addresses this deficiency through a systematic literature review of the state-of-the-art on BIM–GIS integration with the purpose of robot positioning and navigation on construction sites. Using software tools and “science-mapping” methods, 236 papers were explored. Trends, challenges, potentials, and deficiencies identified and mapped. Citation patterns of journal articles along with the analysis of studies; visualized and analyzed. Bibliometric analysis is followed by a thorough qualitative analysis of the articles identified by the systematic methodology indicating limitations of current studies such as vertical navigation, inaccuracy, dynamics of construction sites, indoor-outdoor navigation. Requirements for robot positioning using BIM–GIS integration are defined.
View
Review of built heritage modelling: Integration of HBIM and other information techniques
Article
  • Jul 2020
  • J CULT HERIT
Built heritage documentation involves the 3D modelling of the geometry (typically using 3D computer graphics, photogrammetry and laser scanning techniques) and information management of semantic knowledge (i.e., using Geographic Information System (GIS) and ontology tools). The recent developed Building Information Modelling (BIM) technique combines 3D modelling and information management. One of its modern application is heritage documentation and has generated a new concept of Historic/Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM). This paper summarises the applications of these information techniques on the built heritage documentation. We utilise Web of Science Collection to monitor the publications on built heritage documentation. We analyse the research trend in heritage modelling by comparing the attention paid by researchers before and during the 2010s. The results show that photogrammetry is always the most popular method in heritage modelling. More and more works in heritage modelling have begun to use laser scanning, computer science, GIS and especially BIM techniques. Ontologies and 3D computer graphics are traditional ways for heritage documentation. Moreover, we pay attention to the roles of BIM on heritage documentation and conduct a detailed discussion on how to extend the HBIM capabilities by integrating with other techniques. The integration provides possible enhanced functions in HBIM, including accurate parametric modelling from computer graphics, automatic semantic segmentation of 3D point cloud from reality-based modelling, spatial information management and analysis by GIS, and knowledge modelling by ontology.
View