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. 2020 Sep 23;20(19):5457.
doi: 10.3390/s20195457.

The Use of Low-Cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the Process of Building Models for Cultural Tourism, 3D Web and Augmented/Mixed Reality Applications

Tomasz Templin  1 , Dariusz Popielarczyk  1
Affiliations

The Use of Low-Cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the Process of Building Models for Cultural Tourism, 3D Web and Augmented/Mixed Reality Applications

Tomasz Templin et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are widely used in low-cost photogrammetry. Even small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) can deliver valuable data for the inventory of inaccessible and dangerous areas or objects. The acquisition of data for 3D object modeling is a complicated, time-consuming, and cost-intensive process. It requires the use of expensive equipment and often manual work as well as professional software. These are major barriers limiting the development of modern tourist platforms that promote local attractions. Information technologies offer new opportunities for the development of the services market, including the development of smart tourism services, as an integral part of the smart city concept. 3D models are an important element of this process as they form the basis for the use of new visualization technologies, such as Virtual, Mixed, and Augmented Reality (VR/MR/AR). 3D modeling provides a new opportunity to use AR/MR technology to present information about objects, virtual tours of the historic buildings, and their promotion. It also creates an opportunity to preserve the architectural heritage and preventive maintenance of buildings. Despite the increasing use of new measuring platforms and computer modeling techniques, the implementation of 3D building models in smart tourism services is still limited, focusing more on the results of scientific projects rather than on the implementation of the new ones. The paper presents an universal methodology for the inventory of historical buildings using low-cost UAVs. It describes the most important aspects related to the process of planning UAV measurement missions and photogrammetric data acquisition. The construction of 3D models and the possibilities of their further use to build smart tourism services based on Web/AR/MR/VR technology was also presented.

Keywords: 3D Web; AR; MR; UAV/UAS; cultural heritage; smart city; smart tourism; tourism services.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A typical methodology for implementation of an HBIM.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Review of the methodology adopted for the reconstruction of 3D buildings using UAV/UAS.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Study area.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The water tower inside Modlin fortress—recent look.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Photos taken using the DJI and Sony cameras.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The locations of the TLS stations and the target points.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Methodology of UAV dense point cloud quality assessment.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Visualization of UAV dense point cloud (left), texture shaded model (right).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Visualization of the TLS point cloud.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Cloud to cloud comparison (absolute distance calculation using Quadratic algorithm from CloudCompare).
Figure 10
Figure 10
Cloud to cloud comparison (absolute distance calculation using Quadratic algorithm from CloudCompare).
Figure 11
Figure 11
Methodology used for creating 3D models.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Visual illustration of the strategy of generating mesh models.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Comparison of mesh models of Water Tower building: (a) High quality model. (b) Medium quality model (c) Low quality model (d) 250 k quality model (e) 100 k quality model (f) 25 k quality model (top—models with textures, middle—solid model, bottom—models with triangles (bottom part of building with door)).
Figure 14
Figure 14
Concept of architecture that allow one to visualize temporary changes of the building façade based on the Water Town in Modlin (top), the Old Town Hall in Olsztyn (middle), main building of the Faculty of Geodesy, Geoengineering (bottom).
Figure 15
Figure 15
Visualization of the water station building model as a dae models in 3D web GIS environment.
Figure 16
Figure 16
Visualization of the 3D water station building model in prototype AR application—100 k model (from the left surface recognizing, walking near 3D model of Water Station (real sizes), view from inside the building, view from near the building). Test carried out in the parking lot in Olsztyn on the UWM campus.
Figure 17
Figure 17
Visualization of the 3D water station building model in prototype AR application superimposed on the desk (100 k model).
Figure 18
Figure 18
Visualization of temporal changes of the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Geoengineering building (at the top 3D model of current look of the building, on the right model from 1976).
Figure 19
Figure 19
Visualization of the water station building model as a hologram using Microsoft Hololens MR helmet.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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