DRONE
The Drone is part of a large category of small and medium-sized aircraft piloted by a ground pilot using a radio control.
During flight, drones can carry different types of sensors. The sensors (Payloads) can be a simple high definition camera or video camera or more complex sensors, such as infrared radiometric cameras and laser sensors.
The drone is associated with an on-board system which, in addition to controlling the navigation of the aircraft, manages the acquisition of data through the use of sensors.
This allows to acquire, often with the same aircraft, different types of data using various types of sensors.
How does it works?
INVESTIGATIONS
The drone, with types of sensors mounted on, flew over the structures of the Terme del Foro also known as Terme dei Veiennani, located in the southern part of the Roman Forum of the archaeological site of Paestum.
The main objective of the investigations was to understand how a new radar sensor developed and perfected as part of the VESTA project could be useful for the purposes of archaeological research and monitoring of the structures of the Baths of Paestum.
The main objective of the investigations was to understand how a new radar sensor developed and perfected as part of the VESTA project could be useful for the purposes of archaeological research and monitoring of the structures of the Baths of Paestum.
The high-frequency radar sensor mounted on the drone uses radio waves reflected by objects to return a radar image of the scene flown over by the drone.
The Radar sensor can be used for non-invasive diagnostics of structures with particular reference to those belonging to the architectural and archaeological heritage.
The sensors mounted on the drone enabled the collection of high-resolution images in addition to the radar data,.
The photos collected were processed to obtain orthophotos and three-dimensional models of the structures of the Terme del Foro di Paestum.
The three-dimensional models were created using the Photogrammetry technique.
Photogrammetry is a survey technique that allows you to position each point of the acquired images in a three-dimensional space giving life to a 3D model of archaeological structures.
The three-dimensional models of the structures and the thermal orthophotos are particularly useful in archaeological documentation and are used to monitor the state of conservation of the structures, as in the case of the Baths of the Forum of Paestum.
Drone aerial photogrammetry is widely used in many areas in archeology and architecture, precisely because of its ability to obtain detailed surveys of the detected surfaces.
RESULTS
The photos collected through the use of sensors produced three-dimensional and orthophoto models of the Terme del Foro that are centimeter accurated.
The data obtained are very useful for creating a documentation of the archaeological asset very close to reality.They contain a great number of information about the structure and its state of conservation.
The thermal images, in particular, allow to identify possible lesions or anomalies in the walls such as infiltrations and humidity. This is a very important documentation for predicting structural interventions and restoration operations.