Close-range object 3d surface modeling using multi-camera and multi-image matching

The generation of photo-realistic 3D model of close-range objects is an important task for cultural heritage digital documentation. In recent years, the laser scanning has been widely used due to high level of detail and high degree of accuracy can be achieved. However, the cost is high and the data acquisition and post-processing are still labor intensive. On the other hand, the image-based 3D modeling has the advantages in many aspects, not only its fast data acquisition but also the texture and embedded semantic information can be extracted from the image. However, the lack of efficiency in photo-triangulation is unavoidable unless an accurate and reliable automatic tie-point matching tool is available and a strong imaging geometry could be established. This paper thus proposes another image-based 3D modeling scheme using multi-camera configuration and multi-image matching technique. There is no need for human intervention during photo-triangulation. Five digital cameras were used and fixed on a mental bar. The interior and relative orientation parameters of all cameras can be calibrated automatically using Australis