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Small scale UAV (Unmanned aerial vehicle) systems have become a very useful tool in modern archaeology. Even a low cost, ready to fly solution can be effectively utilized to aid the process of documentation in the field. Although small in size, some of these aircrafts can cover large areas and have a surprisingly high autonomy and range. The goal of this paper is to show how a simple UAV system can be used for various tasks covering small archaeological sites as well as large areas. A small but stable low flying platform combined with a 3D modeling software, and a good compact camera can give us precise image based 3D models. They are comparable to models made with high-end terrestrial laser scanners, and depending on the sensor (camera), they can even yield better textures on the finished model. On excavation sites with high walls and preserved architectural remains image based modeling remains the only solution for the three dimensional extrapolation of the entire site aside from airborne laser scanners. When considering larger areas image based modeling can give us detailed DRMs (Digital relief models) but only in areas with sparse vegetation, none the less these models can be used to gain valuable spatial information for archeologically interesting areas. Low altitude photographs and FPV (first person video) can be used for documentational purposes as well as for remote sensing, especially when a certain area is suspected to have cropmarks or soilmarks. This paper will present results of various case studies from Croatia, presenting the utilization of a low-cost rotor based UAV system for archaeological documentation and remote sensing. |
