Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 697e710

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Journal of Archaeological Science

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jas

UAV and RPV systems for photogrammetric surveys in archaelogical areas:

two tests in the Piedmont region (Italy)
F. Chiabrando a, *, F. Nex b, D. Piatti b, F. Rinaudo b
a
b

Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecniche per i Processi di Insediamento, Politecnico di Torino, Viale Mattioli 39, 10125 Torino, Italy
Dipartimento di Ingegneria del Territorio dellAmbiente e delle Geotecnologie, Politecnico di Torino, C.so Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10121 Torino, Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 27 January 2010
Received in revised form
12 October 2010
Accepted 24 October 2010

Aerial photogrammetric surveys are usually expensive and the resolution of the acquired images is often
limited. For this reason, different innovative systems have been developed and tested in order to perform
a photogrammetric survey in an inexpensive way, with high-resolution images. In this context, one of the
most promising acquisition techniques is represented by the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
equipped with a digital camera.
The paper deals with the acquisition and processing of low-height aerial imagery acquired by UAVs
and Remote Piloted Vehicles (RPVs), in order to provide large-scale mapping to support archaeological
studies: the pros and cons of these acquisition platforms are presented and discussed. These systems
carry out ights that are usually very different from the manned systems as their dimensions and their
light weights never allow the set course to be own; for this reason, the acquired images are often
affected by large rotations and small overlaps. Therefore, an ad hoc procedure has been implemented to
overcome these limits. In this work, two remote-controlled systems (a mini-helicopter and a mini xedwing plane) were tested over two different archaeological sites in order to provide Digital Surface Models
(DSMs) and large-scale maps (numeric maps and orthophotos). Finally, an accuracy evaluation of the
nal products is reported.
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
UAV
Photogrammetry
Image acquisition
DSM
Multi-image matching
Archaeological survey

1. Introduction
The survey of archaeological areas is often carried out using
traditional techniques, such as topographic surveys, close-range
photogrammetry and terrestrial LiDAR acquisitions. Nevertheless,
the main drawback of these methods is the difculty involved in
acquiring reliable radiometric information of the complete
surveyed area, which can easily be obtained by means of traditional
aerial photogrammetric ights. Furthermore, the costs of aerial
photogrammetry are usually too high in relation to the limited
extension of the surveyed areas. Moreover, the ight altitudes of
aircraft equipped with aerial photogrammetric cameras are not
able to supply suitable images for the production of large-scale
maps (higher than 1:500) and the ight of motor aircraft over
archaeological sites is often forbidden. Another problem is that the
sites that have to be surveyed are sometimes in remote areas.
For these reasons, the use of low-aerial ying systems could
efciently be exploited to acquire metric and non-metric data in

* Corresponding author. Tel 39 011 5644380; fax 39 011 5644399.

E-mail address: liberto.chiabrando@polito.it (F. Chiabrando).
0305-4403/$ e see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.10.022

order to document archaeological areas (Verhoeven, 2009). In the

Geomatics scientic community, research is focused on the use of
non-conventional aerial platforms developed for aerial photogrammetric surveys.
Different tests have been performed using various platforms,
(Everaerts, 2008; Eisenbeiss, 2009) such as helium balloons (Altan
et al., 2004; Celikoyan et al., 2003; Fotinopoulos, 2004; Gesadis
et al., 1999; Kemper et al., 2003; Mihajlovic et al., 2008), kites
(Aber et al., 2002; Bitelli et al., 2003; Bogacki et al., 2008), xedwing platforms (Bendea et al., 2007) and mini-helicopters
(Colomina et al., 2007; Eisenbeiss et al., 2005; Patias et al., 2007,
2009; Remondino et al., 2009; Skarlatos et al., 2004; Spatalas
et al., 2006; Theodoridou et al., 2000; Tokmakidis and Skarlatos,
2000; Vallet and Skaloud, 2004; Wendel et al., 2006; Zischinsky
et al., 2000).
Some xed-wing platforms and mini-helicopters can be
considered UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), as they are aircraft
which are designed or modied, not to carry a human pilot and are
operated through electronic input initiated by the ight controller
or by an onboard autonomous ight management control system
that does not require ight controller intervention (AIAA, 2004).
These aerial platforms have been developed since the late 1950s for

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Table 1
UAV classication e Subcategories of tactic UAVs (UAV association).
Subcategories of
Tactic UAVs

Acronym

Range
[Km]

Climb
rate [m]

Endurance
[hours]

Mass
[Kg]

Micro
Mini
Close Range
Short Range
Medium Range
Medium Range
Endurance
Low Altitude Deep
Penetration
Low Altitude Long
Endurance
Medium Altitude
Long Endurance

m (Micro)
Mini
CR
SR
MR
MRE

<10
<10
10e30
30e70
70e200
>500

250
150e300
3000
3000
5000
8000

1
<2
2e4
3e6
6e10
10e18

<5
150
150
200
1250
1250

LADP

>250

50e9000

0.5e1

350

LALE

>500

3000

>24

< 30

MALE

>500

14,000

24e48

1500

very different from traditional photogrammetric ights: the small

dimensions of these systems and the reduced weight do not allow
images that are close to the normal case to be obtained. For this
reason, the commercial software packages available for image
orientation, DSM extraction and orthophoto production are often
not sufcient to achieve reliable results. A new ad hoc process is
necessary to achieve maps of test sites in a quick and reliable way.
The basic algorithms set up by the Geomatics group of the
Politecnico di Torino in order to solve this task are described
hereafter. The proposed approach takes advantage of both the
Computer Vision and the Photogrammetric application eld.
Computer Vision algorithms were adapted in the image orientation
procedure and multi-image matching techniques were used for the
generation of the Digital Surface Model (DSM).

2. Historical framework
military purposes. They are currently employed in military and civil
elds for reconnaissance or monitoring operations, atmospheric
measurements, damage assessment and mapping of natural or
manmade hazards, monitoring in agriculture and forestry and coast
guard operations.
UAVs are classied on the basis of different specications; the
most effective classication has been drafted by the Unmanned
Vehicle Systems International Association (International Unmanned
Aerial System Community, 2008). According to this classication,
UAVs are split into three main categories under to their possible use:
Tactic, Strategic and Special Purpose. Each typology is divided into
subcategories, according to their features and performances: vehicle
ight range, maximum climbing rate, endurance weight, etc. The
rst category of UAVs is usually employed for photogrammetric
purposes: micro and mini-UAVs (Table 1) are employed in particular
since they are cheaper to construct than traditional manned
platforms.
The work presented in this paper is focused on some tests that
were performed by the Geomatics research group of the Politecnico
di Torino on UAV and RPV systems to evaluate their suitability for
archaeological surveys. A xed-wing platform and a mini-helicopter
were used: the rst one (Pelican) was employed over the Roman
archaeological site of Augusta Bagiennorum (Bene Vagienna, Piedmont, Italy), while the second one (Voyager G8 RR mini-helicopter)
was used in the Reggia di Venaria Reale (Venaria Reale, Piedmont,
Italy).
The rst platform can carry out photogrammetric ight courses
in a completely automatic way (excluding take-off and landing),
according to the ight plan specications; instead, the second
system cannot perform autonomous ights, and this is why it is
named RPV. Nevertheless, in both cases the performed ights are

The ruins of the Roman city of Augusta Bagiennorum are situated

a few kilometers from the actual city of Bene Vagienna in Piedmont
(Italy). Due to the strategic position in the middle of the Tanaro
valley, Augusta Bagiennorum became an important centre which
was exploited by the Romans for agricultural purposes and urban
redevelopment. Since the 2nd century BC, Augusta Bagiennorum
has been one of the vertices of a triangle, with nearby cities of
Pollentia and Alba Pompeia, which constituted the nodal points of
the street network required for the expansion of the Roman
Empire. Today, the archaeological remains attest the presence of
some public buildings, such as the Theatre (Fig. 1 left) and the foursided portico, which is characterized by a central basement of
a temple devoted to an unknown divinity. These buildings are both
located in the south-eastern part of the ancient city. A small
Christian Basilica was built above the temple and its remains can
still be seen; it is currently possible to identify the perimeter walls
and the major apse between two minor ones.
Some structures (houses or workshops), constituted by circular
surrounding walls around a central court (1st to 2nd century BC),
are clearly visible in front of the above described archaeological
area. Finally, it is also possible to recognize the Amphitheatre
outside the old city (Fig. 1 right).
The other archaeological site examined in this paper is the
Fontana DErcole which can be found in the Gardens of the Reggia di
Venaria Reale (Fig. 2). The ruins of the Fontana DErcole were
discovered during works in the Reggia di Venaria Gardens. The
fountain was built over a period of four years (from 1669 to 1672)
on the basis of a project by Amedeo di Castellamonte; the Fontana
DErcole formed the central architectural and symbolic axis of the
projected seventeenth century garden. Thanks to the two ights of

Fig. 1. Aerial views of the Theatre (left) and of the Amphitheatre (right) (Augusta Bagiennorum area).

F. Chiabrando et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 697e710

699

Fig. 2. Fontana DErcole: old drawing (left), aerial view (in the centre of the red circle), terrestrial view (right) (for interpretation of the references to colour in this gure legend, the
reader is referred to the web version of this article).

stairs on either side of the large basin, the fountain connected the
lower garden to the upper one.
In 1699, Garove suggested a transformation project of the
gardens (from an Italian style of garden to a French style of garden)
and the rst suggestion for the demolition of the Fontana DErcole
was made (Bruno and Vinardi, 1990). The fountain, broken up in
1726 by Tantarini, was permanently knocked down in order to reuse
the bricks for the construction of the new part of the main building
of the Reggia di Venaria Castle. Today, after the archaeological
diggings, the old fountain ruins can clearly be seen in the Gardens.
3. Theoretical background
The use of Photogrammetry and Computer Vision algorithms
were necessary for this work. The photogrammetric workow
(Marenchino, 2009; Lingua et al., 2009a) that is illustrated hereafter
shows the different phases of the orthophoto and drawing
production of the performed tests (Fig. 3).
3.1. Image acquisition
Image acquisition was performed according to the available
aerial platform and it is one of the main phases of the workow. The
results of the automatic DSM and orthophoto generation depend
on the quality of the acquired images. Therefore, a good image
acquisition should allow a double stereoscopic coverage (at least
three images of the same object) to be achieved over the surveyed

area: in this way, a multi-image approach can be performed.

Moreover, the acquired images should have a good radiometric
content and avoid any drag effect. Two different digital cameras
were employed over the test areas (Table 2): a Ricoh-GR camera
mounted onto the UAV Pelican for the Augusta Bagiennorum test
site and a Nikon Coolpix 8400 camera onto the mini-helicopter for
the Reggia di Venaria Reale test site.
3.2. Image pre-processing
Image pre-processing techniques allow image quality to be
enhanced when the image has been taken in non-ideal conditions
(forward motion effects, low radiometric content, etc.). These
algorithms are frequently used to enhance image quality, to reduce
noise effects and to increase image contrast. A Wallis lter (Wallis,
1976) was implemented in the proposed algorithm. The Wallis
Filter performs a locally-adaptive (spatially-varying) contrast
enhancement on a greyscale raster. This lter is designed for images
in which there are signicant bright and dark tone areas. The Wallis
lter adjusts brightness values in local areas so that the local mean
and standard deviation match the user-specied target values. This
enhancement produces good local contrast throughout the image,
while reducing the overall contrast between bright and dark areas
(Fig. 4). This lter algorithm was tested on aerial images and an
optimized set of parameters was determined for the image
enhancement in order to achieve the most stable results
(Marenchino, 2009). The goal of using this lter was to provide
good radiometric information for point and region detectors.
3.3. Aerial triangulation
Aerial triangulation is a method that is used for the simultaneous orientation of an unlimited number of spatially distributed
images (Kraus, 2007; McGlone et al., 2004). The input parameters
of this process are the photogrammetric observations (measured
homologous image points) and the Ground Control Point (GCP)
coordinates. The mathematical formulation allows single images to
be merged into a global model in which the surface of the object
can be reconstructed in three dimensions. The connection to
a global object coordinate system is provided through the

Table 2
Technical specications of the two cameras employed in the test areas.

Resolution [Mpixel]
Pixel Dimension [mm]
Focal length [mm]
Weight [g]
Dimensions [mm]
Fig. 3. Data acquisition and processing workow.

RICOH GR

Nikon Coolpix 8400

8
2.19
5.90
200
107  58  54

8
2.69
6.10
470
113  82  75

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F. Chiabrando et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 697e710

Fig. 4. Original panchromatic image of the Amphitheatre (left) and the same image obtained applying the Wallis lter (right).

measurement of a set of 3D unknown points, called Tie Points (TPs)

and a minimum number of reference points (GCPs).
In the performed tests, the Tie Points were automatically
extracted using the A2SIFT (Auto-Adaptive Scale Invariant Feature
Transform) operator (Lingua et al., 2009b), which is an extension of
the well known SIFT operator (Lowe, 1999; Lowe, 2004). The initial
implementation allows features to be extracted that are invariant to
image scaling and rotation and partially invariant to changes in
illumination and in 3D camera viewpoints (afne transformation).
The A2SIFT operator also allows a large number of points to be
matched in bad textured images (i.e. wooded, grassed areas), thus
increasing the performance of the initial implementation. A robust
Least Median Square (LMS) relative orientation should then be
performed to detect any wrong homologous point candidates
(Rousseeuw and Leroy, 1987). The extracted points can be used as
Tie Points in the bundle block adjustment by importing them in
commercial software. This nal step was carried out using Leica
Photogrammetric Suite 9.2 (Leica Geosystems). In an over-determined system of equations, a least square adjustment technique
estimates the 3D object coordinates, the image orientation parameters and any additional model parameters, together with any
related statistical information pertaining to accuracy and reliability.
Since all the observed (measured) values and all the unknown
parameters of a photogrammetric project are taken into account in
one simultaneous calculation, the bundle block adjustment is the
most powerful and accurate image orientation and point determination method in photogrammetry. Finally, the Tie Points, Ground
Control Points and Check Points are used to generate the approximate DSM that is necessary in the multi-image matching algorithm.
In our tests, the interior orientation parameters of the employed
cameras were estimated before the ights using the iWitness software (Photometrix). This software uses the ten parameter physical
model commonly employed in digital close-range photogrammetry
(Fraser, 1997). The inner parameters are the principal distance (c),
the principal point offsets (x0, y0), three radial distortion coefcients
(K1, K2 and K3), two decentering distortion coefcients (P1, P2) and

the afne deformation (non-orthogonality) parameters (b1 and b2,

which are rarely employed in CCD cameras). The estimated interior
orientation parameters of the employed cameras are reported in
Tables 3 and 4. These parameters were used to correct the acquired
images from lens distortion before point and edge extraction (See
Section 3.4.1 Point and edge extraction).

Table 3
Estimated interior orientation parameters of the RICOHGR camera.

Table 4
Estimated interior orientation parameters of the Nikon
Coolpix 8400 camera.

Calibration parameters RICOH GR

c (mm)
x0 (mm)
y0 (mm)
K1 (1/mm2)
K2(1/mm2)
K3 (1/mm2)

3.4. DSM generation

The DSM Generation can be divided into three different steps:
the feature extraction, the multi-image matching process and the
blunder detection and ltering.
3.4.1. Point and edge extraction
In this rst step, one of the stereoscopic distortion-free images
(all the images were previously undistorted) is chosen as the
reference image, while the others serve as search images. Points
and lines are extracted from the reference image. The points are
extracted using the Forstner operator (Forstner, 1986), while the
edges are extracted by means of the Canny operator (Canny, 1986).
The extracted edges are then approximated, by identifying the
pixels where each edge changes in direction as knots and linking
these dominant points by straight edges (Nex and Rinaudo, 2009).
3.4.2. Multi-image matching
The DSM extraction is performed through the matching of points
and lines in two or more images. A multi-image matching approach,
called Multi-Image Geometrically Constraint Cross-Correlation
(MIGC3), has been implemented (Marenchino, 2009). This approach
is an area-based matching algorithm, based on the Cross-Correlation
technique. The MIGC3 procedure is based on the concept of multiimage matching (Baltsavias, 1991) guided from the object space,
therefore any number of images can be matched simultaneously and
the epipolar constraints are implicitly integrated. Together with an
adaptive determination of the correlation parameter, it has the
ability to reduce both problems caused by surface discontinuities,

Calibration parameters COOLPIX 8400

5.820
0.053
0.308
8.669E-04
3.204E-04
1.623E-05

c (mm)
x0 (mm)
y0 (mm)
K1 (1/mm2)
K2(1/mm2)
K3 (1/mm2)

6.374
0.044
0.131
1.159E-03
3.259E-06
4.139E-08

F. Chiabrando et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 697e710

701

Fig. 5. An example of DSM before (left) and after (right) applying the S2MF lter.

Fig. 6. The Solid True OrthoPhoto: generation and structure.

occlusions and repetitive structures, and to produce dense and

reliable point matching results (Zhang, 2005; Eisenbeiss and Zhang,
2006).
The image matching procedure is performed for all the extracted points. An image point is projected in the object space and the
approximate DSM allows a rst 3D position of the point to be
dened. This height constraint in the object space allows a height
interval to be dened where the correct homologous point should
lie. If this height interval is back-projected onto the search images,
the bounds of the epipolar segment will be dened (Hartley and
Zisserman, 2000). After the application of the geometric
constraints, the research of the homologous points along the

epipolar segment is performed using a function called SNCC (Sum

of Normalized Cross-Correlation), which represents the mean value
of the Normalized CrosseCorrelation parameters computed for
each stereo pair (Zhang, 2005). Furthermore, auto-adaptive correlation window warping and size, and dynamic parallax compensation allows the extraction of homologous points on areas with
poor texture, repetitive structures, or geometric discontinuities.
3.4.3. Blunder detection and ltering
The results achieved when using the MIGC3 algorithm still show
some gross errors. The elimination of these blunders is carried out
through a robust ltering algorithm called the Self-tuning Standard

Fig. 7. Stereoscopic image acquisition of the Amphitheatre (left) and of the Theatre (right).

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F. Chiabrando et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 697e710

Fig. 8. Example of image acquired with the mini-helicopter (left). Image of 3 of the 40 targets positioned on the Fontana DErcole and used as GCPs for the photogrammetric process
(right).

deviation Median Filter (S2MF), which has been implemented by the

authors. S2MF is a distance-function lter method, which quickly
processes 3D point clouds extracted using photogrammetric procedures. It produces ltered DSMs with an almost negligible rate of
residual errors. In the case of DSMs extracted through automatic
photogrammetric procedures, the lack of dense 3D point clouds
causes the traditional median lter to fail; therefore, the development
of an auto-adaptive approach is necessary in relation to the density of
the point cloud. The lter works as follows: the planimetric DSM area
is split into several bins and each point is classied in the respective
bin according to its position. The bin size is a fundamental parameter
that affects the performances of the lter. On one hand, small bins
allow a local analysis of the object to be performed and increase the
reliability of the method: however, it is likely that some bins do not
have enough points for a statistical analysis. On the other hand, if bins
of large dimensions are used, each of them has hundreds of points, but
an ineffective smoothing can be achieved. For this reason, the square
bin size is dened in relation to the density of the points in the object
space. The median and the standard deviation of the heights are
computed for each bin. The median is a robust estimator of the mean
value of a random variable; therefore, it is not sensitive to the presence of outliers in the data set. The standard deviation of the data,
which is computed with respect to the median, is instead sensitive to
the measurements affected by gross errors. Thus, the distance function, which compares the elevations of each point with the altimetry
trend of the surrounding bins, is also sensitive to the gross errors.
A self-tuning approach for the computation of the standard
deviation of each bin has been developed to avoid these problems.
Given a bin with several points, the standard deviation s1 of the
whole data set of z-values is computed with respect to the median
value. The minimum and maximum z-values are then removed and
a new value in standard deviation s2 is estimated. The process is
iterated until the difference of the standard deviations between
two adjacent iterations is smaller than a threshold value dened by
the user. The process allows the points that are likely to be affected
by gross errors to be removed from the standard deviation
computation with an automated robust approach. The outliers,
however, are not eliminated from the data set during this step, but
they are ruled out in the self-tuning standard deviation computation. The median and the self-tuning standard deviation of each bin
are the two parameters necessary for the denition of the distance
function. The planimetric position of each point, given its coordinates, is computed in the bin reference system. Hence, the median
and standard deviation to be applied to this point are computed by
means of a bilinear interpolation, considering the median and
standard deviation values of the 4 nearest bins, in this way, it is

possible to apply this distance function to each point of the DSM in

order to identify the outliers. Fig. 5 shows an example of DSM
before (left) and after (right) applying the S2MF lter.
3.5. Orthophoto production
An aerial image is a central projection of a portion of land and it
represents a permanent archive of qualitative and geometric
information about the imaged area. In order to acquire a metric
value that is comparable with the cartographic one, the image has
to be transformed into an orthographic projection.
In the central projection of an aerial image, each detail is in
a planimetrically wrong position, with respect to the orthogonal
projection. This is mainly caused by the image inclination with
respect to the horizontal plane and the ground geometry, which
determines a scale variation of the image depending on the relative
altitude with respect to the acquisition point.
A digital orthophoto is obtained by correcting each single pixel
position, which is shifted because of the prospective deformations
due to the altimetric variations obtained from a DSM.
In recent years, Geomatics research has dealt with the integration of digital images and 3D models automatically obtained using
LiDAR or photogrammetric techniques. The Geomatics research
group at the Politecnico di Torino has developed and implemented
an innovative product, called Solid True OrthoPhoto (STOP) (Biasion
et al., 2004), which combines the high radiometric resolution of
orthophotos with the 3D information of DSMs. The radiometric
content and the 3D spatial data allow basic geometric information to
be extracted, and this information can easily be utilized for cultural
heritage purposes. STOP records three colour values from the true
orthophoto (RGB) and one height value derived from the DSM for
each pixel (Fig. 6). This is a cheap and efcient product which can be
used to represent the correct shape of any 3D object in photographic
form. STOP allows the investigated areas to be examined by means
of measurements of 3D points, distances, areas and volumes;

Table 5
Standard deviations on the GCPs and the CPs of the photogrammetric blocks
(s0 10).
Amphitheatre
GCPs (13)
CPs (8)

sx [m]
0.025
0.040

Theatre

sx [m]

GCPs (9)
CPs (6)

0.015
0.022

sy [m]

sz [m]

0.019
0.034

0.023
0.038

sy [m]
0.020
0.027

sz [m]
0.018
0.031

F. Chiabrando et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 697e710

703

Fig. 9. Amphitheatre ruins: results of the MIGC3 and S2MF algorithms (left); 3D visualization of the extracted points (blue) and edges (red) (right) (for interpretation of the
references to colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Fig. 10. Final Amphitheatre TIN extracted and ltered with MIGC3 and S2MF algorithms.

Fig. 11. Theatre ruins: results of the MIGC3 and S2MF algorithms (left); 3D visualization of the extracted points (blue) and edges (red) (right) (for interpretation of the references to
colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

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F. Chiabrando et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 697e710

Fig. 12. Final Theatre TIN extracted and ltered with MIGC3 and S2MF algorithms.

therefore, it is the ideal cartographic support for the measurement

of archaeological ruins. STOP has been produced by SirIo software,
which has been implemented by SIR, a Politecnico di Torino Spin Off.
The generation of STOP requires a DSM and a multiple stereoscopic
coverage of the area of interest. If this information is not available, it
is possible to generate a Solid Orthophoto (SOP) by integrating
a DSM and a set of oriented images.

4. Experimental section
4.1. Data acquisition e Augusta Bagiennorum test site
The UAV Pelican (Bendea et al., 2008) was employed for the
Augusta Bagiennorum test area. This UAV is a low-cost platform
which is capable of performing photogrammetric ights in an
automatic way. The UAV was developed by the Department of
Aerospace (DIASP) at the Politecnico di Torino in cooperation with
the ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance
Cooperation and Action) association, in order to carry out photogrammetric ights in remote areas affected by natural or manmade
hazards. Three platforms in wood and carbon bre and equipped
with digital sensors are currently available. Each platform weights
10 kg and can carry a payload of 2 kg onboard. The optimum range
limit is 30 min at a cruise speed of 15 m/s. The wing span of 2 m and
the possibility of assembling the main component of the platform
make the UAV easy to maneuvre and it can be transported on
normal aircraft and used in the eld by a couple of operators.
The platforms currently available are equipped with two video
cameras (frontal and nadiral views) for navigation operations. They

Table 6
Standard deviations on the GCPs and the CPs of the photogrammetric block
(s0 10).
FontanadErcole

sx [m]

sy [m]

sz [m]

GCPs (22)
CPSs (10)

0.009
0.011

0.008
0.016

0.015
0.018

carry a compact digital camera, RICOH GR, which is installed in a pod in

the belly of the fuselage. The camera GSD (Ground Sample Distance) on
the ground is 0.04 m at a ight altitude of 100 m. The digital camera is
capable of performing automatic shots thanks to a connection with
a commercial autopilot system (Micropilot MP2128g). The navigation
system allows autonomous ights to be carried out and provides a realtime attitude of ight. The MP2128g is composed of an electronic
circuit board and Ground Control Software (GCS, HORIZONmp). A radio
modem allows the ight attitude to be transmitted to the Ground
Control Station (GCS). The HORIZON software provides ight path and
current sensor values in real-time. Therefore, apart from the take-off
and landing operations which must be conducted manually, due to the
insufcient GPS height accuracy, it is possible to perform autonomous
ights. The ight can be monitored in real time by an operator through
the GCS. At the end of the ight, the images and the position/attitude
data are downloaded, and then processed in the subsequent steps.
Different photogrammetric ights were planned and realized in
the Augusta Bagiennorum area for both the Theatre and the
Amphitheatre areas: a low altitude ight (elevation of 60 m, GSD of
2 cm) for the Theatre and a high altitude one (elevation of 100 m, GSD
of 4 cm) for the Amphitheatre. A topographic survey was performed
in the two areas, in order to generate a network of GCPs, adopting the
WGS84-ETRS2000 datum (UTM projection) as the reference system.
The GCPs are represented by natural and manmade target points.
The target position was planned according to the ight specication
and the accessibility of the surrounding areas of the archaeological
sites. The survey operations were carried out with a GPS Leica
RX1200 receiver in RTK multi reference station mode, while some
natural points were surveyed with the Leica Smart-Station.
The UAV was remotely driven by a pilot from the ground, as the
autopilot had some problems in following a straight line due to wind.
However, the presence of the autopilot allowed the position and
attitude data to be logged for post-processing purposes and for realtime monitoring. Unfortunately, the image acquisition of the areas
did not provide the stereoscopic coverage that was designed in the
ight plan. This was mainly due to the difculty the pilot encountered when trying to follow the ight course and keep the ight
altitude. An automatic acquisition of six images with a medium 60%

F. Chiabrando et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 697e710

705

Fig. 13. High altitude ight over the Fontana DErcole: results of the MIGC3 and S2MF algorithms (left) and TIN (right).

stereoscopic coverage and a relative altitude of 100 m was carried

out for the Amphitheatre (Fig. 7). Only three images from the Theatre
ights were suitable for a photogrammetric processing. They were
acquired at different ight altitudes (from 60 m to 70 m) and in nonnormal conditions. Unfortunately, the trees next to the ruins lead to
some problems in the maneuverability of the UAV.
4.2. Data acquisition e Reggia di Venaria Reale test site
The mini-helicopter Voyager G8 RR (Chiabrando et al., 2008) was
used in the second test area. Unlike the Pelican UAV, this platform is
not capable of performing photogrammetric ights in an automatic
way. In fact, this version is a modied version of the original model
which was equipped with custom-made components so that it can
be used for photogrammetric purposes. No GPS or IMU have been
installed on it up to now, therefore a human operator pilots it using
remote radio controls, and there is no possibility of performing
autonomous ights. The mini-helicopter is equipped with a video
camera for navigation purposes, a pressure altitude transducer and
a custom-made remote-controlled mechanical system, positioned in
the lower part of the helicopter to carry a camera for image acquisition. This mechanical system is able to rotate around two axes, and
it is therefore possible to orient the camera in different directions

during the ight, a Nikon Coolpix 8400 camera was used in this
work for image acquisition and remotely-controlled shots were
taken; moreover during mini-helicopter ight, it is possible to see
the area that is being imaged and to arrange the ight attitude in
order to acquire the area to be surveyed.
Some images of the Fontana DErcole were only acquired for
photographic documentation purposes, while several stereoscopic
images were acquired for the photogrammetric process (Fig. 8 left).
Five images were taken at a ight altitude of 50 m (high ight
altitude) and twenty images at a ight altitude of 15 m (low ight
altitude); a large number of GCPs was necessary in order to perform
the photogrammetric process, for this reason, forty targets were
homogeneously positioned on the area to be surveyed (Fig. 8 right).
The position of the targets was determined using a total station and
referring to a local coordinate system xed to reference points that
already existed in the area that was surveyed.
4.3. Data processing e Augusta Bagiennorum test site
Two aerial triangulations were performed on the Theatre and
the Amphitheatre using the Leica Photogrammetric Suite 9.2 software, three images were oriented over the Theatre using 9 ground
control points and 6 check points; in the case of the Amphitheatre

Fig. 14. Low altitude ight over the Fontana DErcole: results of the MIGC3 and S2MF algorithms (left) and TIN (right).

706

F. Chiabrando et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 697e710

Fig. 15. DSM and derived orthophoto of the Amphitheatre.

Table 7
Statistical accuracy check of the Amphitheatre orthophoto.

sCP,E,N[m]
95CP[m]
RMSEOP[m]
CE95OP[m]
CE95EN [m]
TEN 1:500 quick [m]
TEN 1:500 ordinary [m]

0.02
0.05
0.10
0.18
0.19
0.26
0.17

four images were oriented using 13 GCPs and 7 CPs, the achieved
standard deviations of the GCPs and CPs (reported in Table 5) show
the high quality of the bundle block adjustment.
The selected images were processed with the algorithms
implemented by the authors. First, the images were pre-processed
in order to remove the geometrical distortions and to enhance the

radiometric content. Then, the A2SIFT algorithm and the robust

relative orientation were performed with the Least Median Square
method on the stereo pairs for the automatic extraction of an
approximate DSM.
More than 1000 points were extracted from the ve stereo pairs
for the Amphitheatre. The automatic extraction of the DSM was
then carried out with the aforementioned procedure. Two images
were considered as the reference images in the MIGC3 procedure.
The automatic point extraction, the edge extraction and the S2MF
were performed for each set of images. Fig. 9 shows the result of the
DSM extraction in the Bene Vagienna Amphitheatre area. The rate
of points and edges matched by the MIGC3 is almost 40%. This result
is due to the low stereoscopic coverage of the area, and the poor
texture of the images, especially of the ploughed elds and of the
sown land. The high discontinuities of the houses near the
archaeological site and the lack of an accurate DSM also reduce
the performance of the image matching technique. Nevertheless,

Fig. 16. 2D drawing of the Amphitheatre.

F. Chiabrando et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 697e710

707

Fig. 17. Theatre: DSM (left), orthophotho (centre) and 2D drawing (right).

Fig. 18. High altitude ight over the Fontana dErcole: orthophotho (left) and 2D drawing (right).

the rate of points affected by gross errors is reduced to 20%.

Therefore, the number of points and knots correctly matched (more
than 100,000) allows a DSM to be extracted with a mean planimetric step of 0.5 m. The TIN was regularized using the Kriging
algorithm implemented in the ESRI ArcGis software, the nal DSM
(Fig. 10) still suffered from some residual errors, especially in the
maize eld and near the discontinuities due to the buildings, so
manual editing was required.
The image processing and the DSM generation of the Theatre
area were carried out in the same way as for the Amphitheatre case.
The extraction of the homologous points with A2SIFT led to the
production of an approximate DSM of the area, with more than
1000 points (Fig. 11), good results were obtained thanks to the
triple stereoscopic coverage of the Theatre ruins and the good
approximation of the initial DSM. More than 155,000 points/knots
were extracted, which allowed TIN to be obtained with a mean
Table 8
Statistical accuracy check of the Theatre orthophoto.

sCP,E,N[m]
CE95CP[m]
RMSEOP[m]
CE95OP[m]
CE95EN [m]
TEN 1:500 quick [m]
TEN 1:500 ordinary [m]

0.02
0.05
0.09
0.14
0.15
0.26
0.17

planimetric step of about 0.15 m. The nal TIN (Fig. 12) was regularized with the Kriging technique (0.10 m step).
4.4. Data processing e Reggia di Venaria Reale test site
Two approaches were followed for the Fontana DErcole case:
three images from the high altitude ight were employed to
produce a 1:200 representation (22 ground control points and 10
check points), while ve images from the lower altitude ight were
used for the generation of a Solid True OrthoPhoto of a portion of
the Fontana DErcole, the results of the aerial triangulation (high
ight altitude) are reported in Table 6, the achieved standard
deviations of the GCPs and CPs show the high quality of the bundle
block adjustment.
The DSM generation was carried out as in section 4.3, two
different DSMs were realized, one for each of the aforementioned
sets of images, Fig. 13 shows the results obtained using the high
ight altitude images: a very high number of points/knots were
extracted over the entire surveyed area, with a satisfactory point
density per square meter.
The high discontinuities of the object in the low altitude ight
(Fig. 14) caused some problems in the automatic 3D point/edge
extraction, especially in the areas near the walls, where there was
a high rate of occlusion. In fact, only 28.3% of the points extracted by
the Forstner/Canny operators were matched and about 50% of them
were gross errors. Nevertheless, a high number of points/knots

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F. Chiabrando et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 697e710

Fig. 19. Low altitude ight over the Fontana dErcole: orthophotho (left) and 2D drawing (right).

were extracted. The nal TIN had a mean planimetric step of

0.04 m. The TIN was then regularized and manually edited in order
to produce a suitable DSM for the STOP production.
4.5. Orthophotos and digital plotting e Augusta Bagiennorum test
site
Different tests were performed on the acquired images in order to
obtain reliable metric products derived from the photogrammetric
process that would be useful for archaeological documentation.
In the case of the Amphitheatre, the orthophoto was produced
using the DSM without any editing (Fig. 15 left), in order to check
the performances of a quick orthophoto production (Fig. 15 right),
the pixel size of the orthophoto is 0.05 m in order to obtain a map
scale ranging from 1:200 to 1:500. The accuracy of the nal product
was tested according to the CISIS Italian regulations (Brovelli et al.,
2009), which are consistent with the ISO TC211 rules (www.
isotc211.org), using several check points and performing a statistical analysis, as shown in Table 7, the circular error at 95% of
probability (CE95EN) is lower than the tolerance limit (TEN) of the
1:500 map scale for ordinary orthophotos.
A digital plotting of the Amphitheatre area was also realized
(using the PRO600 software) in order to produce a traditional 2D
drawing for documentation purposes (Fig. 16), the same products
were produced for the Theatre (Fig. 17), the accuracy test results are

Table 9
Time-consuming comparison for the two tests (two operators for the topographic
survey, one operator for the other phases).
Processing steps

Augusta
Bagiennorum
test site
(Theatre)
[hours]

Augusta
Bagiennorum
test site
(Amphitheatre)
[hours]

Fontana
DErcole
test site e
high ight
[hours]

Fontana
DErcole
test site e
low ight
[hours]

Topographic survey
Image Acquisition
Image pre-processing
Aerial triangulation
DSM generation
DSM editing
Digital Plotting
and editing
Orthophoto
production
Platform cost

7
2
0.5
4
4
e
8

6
2
0.5
4
4
1
8

6
2
0.5
4
4
e
8

1
0.5
3
3
2
6

25,000 Euros

8000 Euros

reported in Table 8, and they conrm the suitability of the orthophotos for a 1:500 map scale.
4.6. Orthophotos, solid true OrthoPhoto and digital plotting e
Reggia di Venaria Reale test site
A different approach was followed in the case of the Fontana
DErcole. The high altitude ight images were employed to obtain
an orthophoto and a digital plotting at a 1:200 scale map, Fig. 18
shows the orthophoto and the traditional drawing; moreover
a Solid True OrthoPhoto was created using the images from the low
altitude ight and the manually edited DSM, ve images were
resampled and merged using the true orthoprojection approach
implemented in the SirIo software. The nal STOP was suitable for
a 1:100 map scale representation (Fig. 19).
The accuracy of both orthophotos was evaluated, as in the
former test, considering several control points displaced on
the whole area: the circular error (CE95EN) was compared to the
tolerances limits (TEN) and showed the suitability of the higher
ight for a 1:200 map scale and the suitability of the higher ight
for a 1:100 map scale.
5. Conclusions and future work
The use of UAV and RPV systems for archaeological documentation purposes has been reported in this paper. The tests carried
out with the Pelican UAV and the remote-controlled mini-helicopter have underlined the suitability of mini-UAV platforms for
the production of orthophotos and digital plottings, which can be
very useful for archaeological documentation purposes for medium
and large-scale maps. The main advantages of these systems, for
archaeological surveys, are the low-cost and the quickness of the
data acquisition at a large scale, even in areas with small extensions. Depending on the data acquisition devices and the ight
height, it is possible to obtain metrically correct products with scale
maps ranging from 1:500 to 1:100, a level which could be suitable
for many archaeological surveys. The availability of the rigorous
spatial and radiometric information provided by the orthophotos
and Solid True Orthophotos allows detailed analysis (3D
measurements and photo-interpretations) to be performed in
a quick and easy way. The photogrammetric process can be performed in a semi-automatic way using the feature extraction and
image matching techniques proposed in this paper. A multi-image
acquisition allows the potential of the MIGC3 and the S2MF to be

F. Chiabrando et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011) 697e710

exploited for the automatic extraction of the DSM, which is

necessary for the orthophoto production. The experimental results
underline the good performances of the implemented algorithms,
especially in DSM extraction and ltering phases. A comparison of
time and costs for the two test sites is reported in Table 9: the time
refers to two operators working on the topographic survey and one
operator working on all the other phases.
If the two platforms employed in this work are compared, it is
possible to see that the Pelican UAV can automate the photogrammetric process, thanks to the autopilot equipment, while the minihelicopter needs to be piloted by a human operator. Nevertheless,
neither of these systems allows a direct geo-referencing of the
images, as the GNSS/IMU equipment is not sufciently accurate.
The image quality is therefore inuenced by the vehicle
typology: in the performed tests, the quality of the images acquired
by the mini-helicopter was affected by some drag effects, due to the
lack of a camera stabilization system. However, the mini-helicopter
presents more exibility in the image acquisition than the xedwing platform, since it is possible to orient the camera in different
directions during the ight, thanks to a custom-made remotelycontrolled mechanical system positioned in the lower part of the
helicopter. Finally, while the Pelican UAV needs about 20 m to takeoff and land, the mini-helicopter needs no more than few meters,
and could therefore be the only possible solution in the case of
limited space. Both platforms suffer from environmental conditions, such as strong gusts of wind that can yaw them from their
courses. There are some limits in both cases that have to be
considered during survey planning, depending on the specic
application.
In the future, the performances of these non-conventional
systems will surely be increased, thanks to the integration of more
accurate micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), such as GNSS/
IMU units, for automatic navigation, and this will enlarge their
applicability for archaeological survey and documentation purposes.
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