Abstract:

Drones, known also as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are proving to be useful tools in Architecture. Due to their small size and weight, the ability to carry powerful cameras and the ease of maneuverability, drones are extremely useful to not only visualize buildings and archaeological sites, which aids the architect in drawing up accurate plans, but also in the mapping process. Data collected by drones can provide architects high resolution images of a site and accurate data for creating topographic surveys, that can be used to build 3D models of the terrain and site and import them directly into drafting and modeling software.

This case study shows how low-cost drones, made using digital fabrication technologies, and the use of photogrammetry software can be employed to create photo-realistic 3D models of large scale archaeological remains of historic buildings to promote archaeological and architectural heritage. The case study included faculty and students of CEU University’s Institute of Technology involved on a course that is running in Fab Lab Madrid CEU, the digital fabrication laboratory based at the university. The course is part of an Advance Diploma in Digital Fabrication for Architectural Design that allows on-site and remote access to Fab Lab technologies through the NEWTON project platform, in order to design and fabricate low-cost drones to be used by students during the course to create 3D models of archaeological sites, merging history and technology to promote cultural heritage.

Keywords:

Fab Labs, drones, archaeological heritage, digital fabrication.