Ultra close-range digital photogrammetry in skeletal anthropology: A systematic review

Abstract

Background Ultra close-range digital photogrammetry (UCR-DP) is emerging as a robust technique for 3D model generation and represents a convenient and low-cost solution for rapid data acquisition in virtual anthropology. Objectives This systematic review aims to analyse applications, technical implementation, and performance of UCR-DP in skeletal anthropology. Methods The PRISMA guidelines were applied to the study. The bibliographic search was performed on March 1 st , 2019 using Scopus and MEDLINE databases to retrieve peer-reviewed studies accessible in English full-text. The authors worked independently to select the articles meeting inclusion criteria, upon discussion. Studies underwent to quantitative and qualitative syntheses. Results Twenty-six studies were selected. The majority appeared in 2016 or after and were focused on methodological aspects; the applications mainly dealt with the documentation of skeletal findings and the identification or comparison of anatomical features and trauma. Most authors used commercial software packages, and an offline approach. Research is still quite heterogeneous concerning methods, terminology and quality of results, and proper validation is still lacking. Conclusions UCR-DP has great potential in skeletal anthropology, with many significant advantages: versatility in terms of application range and technical implementation, scalability, and photorealistic restitution. Validation of the technique, and the application of the cloud-based approach, with its reduced requirements relating to hardware, labour, time, and cost, could further facilitate the sharing of large collections for research and communication purposes.

A detailed method for creating digital 3D models of human crania: an example of close-range photogrammetry based on the use of Structure-from-Motion (SfM) in virtual anthropology

“…Errors in all 3D digitisation methods are inevitable but several studies testing the error show that it is so low that it should not affect results (Mendřický et al 2016(Mendřický et al , 2018Sužiedelyte-Visockiene et al 2019;. Therefore, the proposed method is affected by the limits inherent in all photogrammetric models that have proven to be negligible (Morgan et al 2019;Lussu and Marini 2020;Katz and Friess 2014;Silvester and Hillson 2020). To support our standardisation goal, statistical distribution analysis was carried out on the scale error and the spread between the measurements taken on the physical skulls and the 3D reconstruction.…”

“…Currently, photogrammetry is an affordable, powerful, readily available, and versatile technique for surface data acquisition, which is able to guarantee levels of detail and precision equivalent to other tools that are generally more expensive and bulkier such as a laser scanner or CT (De Reu et al 2013;Jurda Ubanova 2016;Rangel-de Lázaro et al 2021: White and. Nowadays, its wide use in biological anthropology (Bennett 2015;Katz and Friess 2014;Morgan et al 2019;Perevozchikov 2019;Lussu and Marini 2020;Omari et al 2021) is due to the increasing demand of three-dimensional copies of anatomical models supported by the availability of programs and high-performance personal computers and digital cameras that can generate high-resolution models.…”

A high-resolution photogrammetric workflow based on focus stacking for the 3D modeling of small Aegean inscriptions

“…close-range digital photogrammetry [45] and, for the sake of this contribution, it was tested on six inscribed artifacts (two in Cretan Hieroglyphic, three in Linear A, one uncertain), to assess the accuracy and the resolution of the 3D models and to evaluate the reconstruction of the signs. Further details on the objects, whose average size ranges approximately from 1 to 3 cm, are given in Section 4.1.…”

Low-Cost Prototype to Automate the 3D Digitization of Pieces: An Application Example and Comparison

“…Nowadays, 3D scanning and photogrammetry techniques are very useful to build three-dimensional digital models in different fields such as engineering, where they are applied in the remodelling and maintenance of industrial plants [ 1 ] or band vehicle modelling [ 2 ]. In architecture, for the study of structures [ 3 ], creating models of buildings [ 4 ], or seismic studies [ 5 ]; in archaeology, to compare current and ancient landscapes [ 6 ], in reconstruction processes [ 7 ], and maritime archaeology [ 8 ]; or in medicine, diagnosis of pathologies [ 9 ], anatomical modelling [ 10 , 11 ], virtual reality [ 12 ] or odontology [ 13 ] among others applications.…”