Investigations of Low-Cost Systems for 3D Reconstruction of Small Objects

In this paper geometric investigations are presented, which demonstrate the potential of the low-cost recording systems DAVID SLS-1 and Microsoft® Kinect for sustainable use in applications for architecture, cultural heritage and archaeology. From the data recorded with DAVID SLS-1 and Microsoft® Kinect 3D models were produced by different programs and these were examined in relation to handling, quality and reliability in further post processing. For the investigations a number of 3D objects with different surface forms, including a test body, were scanned using the structured light system ATOS I 2M from GOM as references. To compare the results of the Kinect and the SLS-1, digital surface models of this test body were automatically generated using image-based low-cost recording systems (Nikon D7000). As a result of these 3D comparisons to the ATOS reference data a standard deviation of 1.5 and/or 1.6 mm was obtained with the structured light system SLS-1 and/or with the Kinect, while with the image-based 3D reconstruction methods of VisualSFM/CMVS a higher standard deviation of up to 0.2 mm was achieved. Although the introduced low-cost structured light system David SLS-1 could not show the geometrical accuracy of a high end system (ATOS I) of approx. 0.04 mm, it is useful for the 3D recording of smaller objects (size up to 50 cm) with a reduced accuracy for several different applications.