Abstract The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) has developed and patented three high‐resolution 3D imaging systems and processing algorithms which have been applied to a wide range of museum and heritage recording applications. The systems have been designed for different imaging applications and, in collaboration with a number of national and international museums and cultural agencies, have been used to scan a wide variety of objects and sites. The objective of this paper is to present a summary of the 3D technology and examples of its heritage applications. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper describes sensors and algorithms developed and used for the creation of coloured 3-D triangular meshes from a set of range images with registered colour measurements. The objective is the creation of a digital model of a real object that is compatible with established computer graphics techniques. Triangular meshes are the fundamental rendering primitive supported by most high performance graphics workstations. The surface colour of objects can be represented by attributing reflectance values to the vertices of the mesh. Such a geometric and reflectance model provides a uniform and general representation for sculptured surfaces with non-uniform colouring.

Introduces a new method for the calibration of a range camera based on active triangulation. The technique is based on a model derived from the geometry of the synchronized scanner. From known positions of a calibration bar, a logistic equation is fitted with values of spot positions read from a linear position detector at a number of angular positions of a scanning mirror. Furthermore, with an approximate form of the general equations describing the geometry, a series of design guidelines are derived to help a designer conduct a preliminary study of a particular range camera. Experimental results demonstrating the technique are found to compare favorably with theoretical predictions.>

A system for simultaneously measuring the 3-D shape and color properties of objects is described. Range data are obtained by triangulation over large volumes of the scene, whereas color components are separated by means of a white laser. Details are given concerning the modeling and the calibration of the system for bidirectional reflectance-distribution functions measurements. A reflection model is used to interpret the data collected with the system in terms of the underlying physical properties of the target. These properties are the diffuse reflectance of the body material, the Fresnel reflectance of the air media interface, and the slope surface roughness of the interface. Experimental results are presented for the extraction of these parameters. By allowing the subtraction of highlights from color images and the compensation for surface orientation, spectral reflectance modeling can help to understand 3-D scenes. A practical example is given where a color and range image is processed to yield uniform regions according to material pigmentation.>