GEOMETRIC DOCUMENTATION OF THE ALMOINA DOOR OF THE CATHEDRAL OF VALENCIA

Photo-realistic 3D modeling is a process that during the recent years is gaining ground in monument documentation, visualization and dissemination. The combination of a variety of data acquisition technologies, with photogrammetric processing and computer graphic methods has certainly been fruitful. Low-resolution 3D models are frequently used for information dissemination about monuments, e.g., via web-pages in the form of a VRML model. However, the creation, publication and interaction with high resolution photo-realistic 3D models are still rather challenging and require cumbersome tasks. It is certain that a high-quality photo-realistic 3D model, produced to guarantee a given level of accuracy, is a valuable tool for applications involving restoration, preservation and monitoring of monuments. This paper describes the various steps carried out to geometrically document a highly detailed object, the Romanesque door of the Cathedral of Valencia, by a terrestrial laser scanner. The fieldwork and processing stages are described in detail, with special emphasis on the practical difficulties. The final result, the 3D rendered model, is evaluated for its quality and usefulness. 1