3rd May 2011, 04:10 PM
kevin wooldridge Wrote:BRahn: I'd be interested in some examples of where it has been used as a 'research tool'.....by which I guess you mean it has analytical value above and beyond the pure visualisation. I have seen laser scanning and 3d projections from laser scans used as a conservation tool, particulaly in monitoring displacement in standing buildings and monuments, but that to my mind is as a measurement rather than as a research tool. Always happy to hear about something new though.....I'd add that the above cave survey is not the only one of its type.
Just off the top of my head, I've seen stereo photogrammetry of carved rock art, statistical classification/typology of sculpture based on 3d scans of the carved faces, and 3d scanning to develop an automated system for detecting lithic refits. At the landscape level, microtopography for detecting difficult-or-impossible to see features springs immediately to mind, and there are plenty of people using LiDAR data to answer all manner of research questions.