Abstract
In order to improve the cataloging and search of historical photographs available in public online archives, recent advances support for spatially orienting images in a three-dimensional environment to freely explore these collections, thus addressing navigation issues. However, common search tasks still depend on the traditional approach based on text descriptions and keywords. To overcome this, a novel approach is proposed for querying images based on recovered 3d spatial data. By projecting image pixels over the surface of reconstructed geometry from depicted objects, a resulting point cloud is stored and queried by a search volume, retrieving 3d points and so the associated images. The proposal and its potential are validated through a specific case study from the field of urban history, a dilapidated building located in Santiago of Chile, and its associated photographic collections. Finally, the results obtained are discussed, the types of queries that the system allows, and some limitations identified. The conclusion shows that a new set of possibilities emerges, which allows interrogating images with specific tools and functions derived from a 3d spatial database, improving the access and use of collections for historical research with three-dimensional interest.
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Acknowledgments
The present work has been supported by the National Center for Conservation and Restoration from the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage, with the additional help of the Photo Archive Architecture Department from the Ministry of Public Works, and the junior research group Evidencia Visual, Chile.
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Suazo, A. (2021). In Which Images Does This Corner Appears? A Novel Approach for Three-Dimensional Query of Historical Photographs Collections in Urban Heritage Research. In: Niebling, F., Münster, S., Messemer, H. (eds) Research and Education in Urban History in the Age of Digital Libraries. UHDL 2019. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1501. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93186-5_7
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