Improving the digitization of shape and color of 3D artworks in a cluttered environment

We propose an approach for improving the digitization of shape and color of 3D artworks in a cluttered environment using 3D laser scanning and flash photography. In order to separate clutter from acquired material, semi-automated methods are employed to generate masks for segment the 2D range maps and the color photographs, removing unwanted 3D and color data prior to 3D integration. Sharp shadows generated by flash acquisition are trivially handled by this masking process, and color deviations introduced by the flash light are corrected at color blending time by taking into account the object geometry. The approach has been applied to, and evaluated on, a large scale acquisition campaign of the Mont´e Prama complex, an extraordinary collection of stone fragments from the Nuragic era, depicting larger-than-life archers, warriors, boxers, as well as small models of prehistoric nuraghe (cone-shaped stone towers). The acquisition campaign has covered 36 statues mounted on metallic supports, acquired at 0.25mm resolution, resulting in over 6200 range scans (over 1.3G valid samples) and 3426 10Mpixel photographs.