ArchEyeAutomatic summer school 2017

From 26 to 28 July, the 3D spatial data processing group contributed to the “ArchEyeAutomatic summer school 2017: Cameras, Drones, and Laser scanning. Modern ways to document ancient objects”. With a focus on documenting and analyzing archaeological sites and objects, the summer school introduced around 40 participants to various methods of close-range remote sensing at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Lorsch Abbey.
For excavation site and building documentation, close-range photogrammetry (which comprises the commonly known structure from motion) was applied on image collections acquired from terrestrial or aerial perspectives. To capture subtle details of less than one millimeter size on archaeological artefacts, and to provide a high quality basis for object modelling, structured light scanning was introduced. As a method for densely covering objects of the size of buildings with highly accurate measurements, terrestrial laser scanning was introduced by Martin Hämmerle of the 3D spatial data processing group in a talk, followed by hands-on data acquisition and basic data processing. Furthermore, the participants took a look below the ground via geomagnetics.
The summer school was enriched with presentations of Lorsch Abbey (Herrman Schefers), and related research on building archaeology (Katarina Papajanni) and field archaeology (Dieter Lammers). Further talks covered an overview to GIS in archaeology (Michelle Pfeiffer), large-scale LiDAR analysis (Karl Hjalte Maack Raun), and augmented and virtual reality (Christian Seitz), as well as a keynote on the history of archaeological recording, documentation and interpretation (Matthias Untermann).
Big thanks to the main organizers Katja Mombaur, Matthias Untermann, and Christian Seitz!