Update: Photogrammetry at the Acropolis

Last July I stumbled across a laser scanning and photogrammetry operation during a visit to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. As discussed here, the project involved terrestrial laser scanning coupled with aerial photogrammetry. A unique aspect of the project is that airspace restrictions over the Acropolis meant that imagery could not be collected by motorized aircraft (e.g. helicopter), so the project team rigged up a balloon system instead. Here's a picture of the balloon and camera in flight:


A paper describing the data collection and processing process is now available online here. The paper is an excellent resource for those interested in digital preservation of cultural heritage sites, and also outlines how complementary photogrammetry and laser scanning are for 3D data generation. As is the case with many photogrammetric projects, the digital orthophotos derived from the aerial photographs will ultimately reside in a GIS.