Museum Project Update – learning Photogrammetry

This week we learned to use photogrammetry to measure and model objects from Carleton’s collection. Photogrammetry is the process of converting images into information. For the museum project, this consisted of taking photos of our object to generate a 3D model. These 3D models can be a valuable tool for making museum objects accessible. For instance, many objects in the Smithsonian’s have been digitized through photogrammetry (accessed here). The convenience of 3D models is that they can be viewed and manipulated to reveal new details. You can’t normally pick up an object at a museum, but with 3D models you can rotate, and dissect them, all from the comfort of your home.

Photogrammetry can also add something new to an exhibition. The Book of Fortresses project used reference photos from the titular “book of fortresses” to reconstruct ancient Portuguese towns and castles. Most of these structures have been destroyed, so by employing 3D modeling (based on the drawings of Duarte de Armas) they can be restored. Additionally these models give new insight into the voyage and notes of de Armas.

My groups object was a large worn down, circular pot with a spiraling pattern painted along the sides. We took around 100 photos from different angles to capture the geometry and texture of the pot. We were especially careful to photograph regions of the pot that aren’t normally visible (for instance, the inside the pots handles and underneath an extruded part of the pot). We also included a reference scale in our photo to determine the dimensions of the pot. Without a scale, you can’t know if a 3D object is 1 meter wide, or 100 meters. These photos were then converted to .jpeg’s (which was surprisingly difficult) and imported into the software “Photo Recap”. These photos were processed to generate and render a 3D model of our pot.