Structured-Light Scanning and Metrological Analysis for Archaeology: Quality Assessment of Artec 3D Solutions for Cuneiform Tablets

Abstract

This paper deals with a metrological and qualitative evaluation of the Artec 3D structured-light scanners: Micro and Space Spider. As part of a larger European project called ITSERR, these scanners are tested to reconstruct small archaeological artefacts, in particular cuneiform tablets with different dimensions. For this reason, Micro and Space Spider are compared in terms of the entire workflow, from preparatory work to post-processing. In this context, three cuneiform replica tablets will serve as examples on which the Artec scanners will have to prove their worth. Metric analyses based on distance maps, RMSe calculations and density analyses will be carried out to understand metrological differences between these tools. The creation of 3D models of cuneiform tablets is the first step in developing a virtual environment suitable for sharing the archaeological collection with collaborators and other users. The inclusion of semantic information through specific ontologies will be the next step in this important project.