The Encyclopedia of Archaeological Sciences || Laser Scanning

摘要： Laser scanning provides archaeology with a high-speed process for the acquisition of three-dimensional (3D) spatial data. The technique provides surface-based 3D measurements of any small- or large-scale, complex, irregular, standard or nonstandard real-world scene. The resulting data are visualized through the production of point clouds, with the final results depicted as line drawings, computer-aided design (CAD) models, 3D surface models, and video animations, acting as an enhanced communication tool that has the ability of visualizing real-world objects in 3D space. It is the most effective way to quickly obtain data from the observed object and it enables measurements of areas that were unable to be collected previously, such as through hand-based drawings or total station surveys.