Riccardo Roncella

• Ph.D.
• Professor (Full) at University of Parma

This paper presents a low-cost framework for creating urban digital twins in Virtual Reality (VR) tailored for heritage preservation and smart city applications. The increasing demand for urban digital twins necessitates an integration of diverse data sources to enhance urban management, particularly in historical contexts where traditional methods...

This study presents low-cost techniques for monitoring soil erosion on mountain trails within the context of the HUMANITA project, which focuses on mitigating the environmental impacts from recreational activities in protected areas. Monitoring erosion in mountain environments poses several challenges that must be considered to select optimal techn...

This study compares the photogrammetric performance of three multi-camera systems—two spherical cameras (INSTA 360 Pro2 and MG1) and one multi-camera rig (ANT3D)—to evaluate their accuracy and precision in confined environments. These systems are particularly suited for indoor surveys, such as narrow spaces, where traditional methods face limitatio...

This study compares the photogrammetric performance of three multi-camera systems—two spherical cameras (INSTA 360 Pro2 and MG1) and one multi-camera rig (Ant3D)—to evaluate their accuracy and precision in confined environments. These systems are particularly suited for indoor surveys, such as narrow spaces, where traditional methods face limitatio...

Cold mix patching materials (CMPMs) have become increasingly popular solutions for the emergency asphalt repairs of small-to medium-sized potholes in severe winter conditions or where short reopening times are required. Their performances need to be carefully monitored in the early post-application phases, when these materials have a high potential...

This work focuses on investigating the accuracy of 3D reconstructions from fixed stereo-photogrammetric monitoring systems through different camera calibration procedures. New reliable and effective calibration methodologies that require minimal effort and resources are presented. A full-format camera equipped with fixed 50 and 85 mm focal length o...

Multi-camera devices are increasingly popular in various metrological applications, including cultural heritage digitalisation, where these devices are adopted as low-cost alternatives to more traditional methods or mobile mapping systems. They can be of two types: panoramic and non-panoramic configurations, with the former usually more compact and...

Nowadays, the use of carbon neutral materials is an urgent need due to energy consumption and CO2-emissions concerns. Therefore, Ladle Furnace Steel slags (LFSs) use is becoming common in asphalt pavement fields. One of the limitations on using LFSs is linked to the swelling potential due to the changing in chemical structure because of the hydrati...

Digital photogrammetry is a widespread surveying technique in different fields of application due to its flexibility, versatility and cost-effectiveness. Despite its increasing automation and simplicity, a proper image block design is crucial to ensure high standards of performance and accuracy. Studies on camera network design have been largely de...

Though with a less dramatic growth compared to photogrammetry, remote sensing from multispectral imagery taken by UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) platforms is applied to vegetation health monitoring, crop management, water quality assessments, geological inspections and much more, with a sizeable number of multispectral cameras now available on the...

The integration of photogrammetry and Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) techniques is often desirable for Cultural Heritage digitization, especially when high metric and radiometric accuracy is required, as for the documentation and restoration of frescoed spaces. Despite the many technological and methodological advances in both techniques, their fu...

A significant portion not yet investigated in the Regio V of the ancient city of Pompeii is currently the subject of the most remarkable excavation in the post-World War II period. These activities relate to a triangular area, the so-called "wedge", which is placed between the houses of Nozze d'Argento and Marco Lucrezio Frontone. Besides the aston...

Acknowledged guidelines and standards such as those formerly governing project planning in analogue aerial photogrammetry are still missing in UAV photogrammetry. The reasons are many, from a great variety of projects goals to the number of parameters involved: camera features, flight plan design, block control and georeferencing options, Structure...

Traditionally, data co-registration of survey epochs in photogrammetry relied on Ground Control Points (GCP) to keep the reference system unchanged. In the last years, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAV) are increasingly used in photogrammetric environmental monitoring. The diffusion of affordable UAV platforms equipped with GNSS (Global Navigation Satel...

A dome-shape deformation has been found to affect the photogrammetric surface reconstruction in several real and simulated experiments. Its origin has been recognised in inaccurate estimation of the camera parameters and many papers already concentrated on conditions to avoid its development, especially as far as block design is concerned. This pap...

The paper investigates the influence of lighting conditions on image-based 3D surface reconstruction, with particular focus on periodic photogrammetric surveys for monitoring and 3D mapping applications. The analyses focus on the accuracy and completeness of each DSM and the daily and hourly repeatability of repeated photogrammetric surveys. Three...

Digital surface models (DSM) have become one of the main sources of geometrical information for a broad range of applications. Image-based systems typically rely on passive sensors which can represent a strong limitation in several survey activities (e.g., night-time monitoring, underground survey and night surveillance). However, recent progresses...

Pavement management system (PMS) is a set of tools that assist road agencies in finding optimal strategies for maintaining pavements in a serviceable condition over a period of time. Usually, municipalities base their PMS on the deterioration monitoring through a visual survey but the distresses identification is complex and the operations are base...

Stone pavements are of great importance both for their historical and cultural value and for the most modern ecological and aesthetic requirements appreciated thanks to the use of natural materials of different colours, shapes and sizes which are laid in different patterns. Since stone block pavements are made up of individual elements with irregul...

The integration between BIM (Building Information Modeling) and GIS (Geographic Information System) is currently a highly debated research topic. However, the effective integration of the two workflows in a unique information system is still an open research field, especially when dealing with Cultural Heritage (CH).The paper describes an ongoing r...

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are established platforms for photogrammetric surveys in remote areas. They are lightweight, easy to operate and can allow access to remote sites otherwise difficult (or impossible) to be surveyed with other techniques. Very good accuracy can be obtained also with low-cost UAV platforms as far as a reliable ground con...

Photogrammetry is becoming a widely used technique for slope monitoring and rock fall data collection. Its scalability, simplicity of components and low costs for hardware and operations makes its use constantly increasing for both civil and mining applications. Recent on site permanent installation of cameras resulted particularly viable for the m...

In surface mining, rockfall can seriously threaten the safety of personnel located at the base of highwalls and cause serious damage to equipment and machinery. Close-range photogrammetry for the continuous monitoring of rock surfaces represents a valid tool to efficiently assess the potential rockfall hazard and estimate the risk in the affected a...

The so-called Real Time Kinematic (RTK) option, which allows one to determine with cm-level accuracy the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) camera position at shooting time, is also being made available on medium- or low-cost drones. It can be foreseen that a sizeable amount of UAV surveys will be soon performed (almost) without Ground Control Points (...

Thanks to its capability of archiving and organizing all the information about a building, HBIM (Historical Building Information Modeling) is considered a promising resource for planned conservation of historical assets. However, its usage remains limited and scarcely adopted by the subjects in charge of conservation, mainly because of its rather c...

Curved glazed façades of buildings are often realized by cold bending of flat plates. This paper is devoted to experimental tests under static loading on the geometrically non-linear anticlastic bending of aluminium plates, whose constituent material is used as a phantom material to mimic the elastic mechanical behaviour of glass. The 3D displaceme...

In this paper, an integrated analysis of the geometric and photogrammetric surveys on a 19th century bridge is proposed as an instrument for the comprehension of the historical evolution of its structural disorders, of its present conservation status and as a reliable base to define future interventions. The studied 20 arches brick masonry bridge i...

Google Street View is a technology implemented in several Google services/applications (e.g. Google Maps, Google Earth) which provides the user, interested in viewing a particular location on the map, with panoramic images (represented in equi-rectangular projection) at street level. Generally, consecutive panoramas are acquired with an average dis...

Recent advances in photogrammetry and computer vision have seen a growing interest in 3D image-based modelling. Semi-automatic workflows for processing large image sets are now available as commercial and open-source solutions, and coupled with low cost photo-imaging sensors, a new era of slope visualisation opportunities has begun. This paper inve...

Rockfalls and rockslides represent a significant risk to human lives and infrastructures because of the high levels of energy involved in the phenomena. Generally, these events occur in accordance to specific environmental conditions, such as temperature variations between day and night, that can contribute to the triggering of structural instabili...

The need to safeguard and preserve Cultural Heritage (CH) is increasing and especially in Italy, where the amount of historical buildings is considerable, having efficient and standardized processes of CH management and conservation becomes strategic. At the time being, there are no tools capable of fulfilling all the specific functions required by...

A laboratory investigation was performed to evaluate the influence of filler type and Rigden fractional voids on fundamental fracture limits of asphalt mixtures and mastics. Fracture properties of 14 different asphalt mixtures and mastics composed by the combination of 7 different fillers and 2 asphalt binders were evaluated using: a visco-elastic...

High-resolution Digital Surface Models (DSMs) from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) imagery with accuracy better than 10 cm open new possibilities in geosciences and engineering. The accuracy of such DSMs depends on the number and distribution of ground control points (GCPs). Placing and measuring GCPs are often the most time-consuming on-site tasks...

This paper presents preliminary tests of a new low-cost photogrammetric system for 4D modelling of large scale areas for civil engineering applications. The system consists of five stand-alone units. Each of the units is composed of a Raspberry Pi 2 Model B (RPi2B) single board computer connected to a PiCamera Module V2 (8 MP) and is powered by a 1...

UAV Photogrammetry today already enjoys a largely automated and efficient data processing pipeline. However, the goal of dispensing with Ground Control Points looks closer, as dual-frequency GNSS receivers are put on board. This paper reports on the accuracy in object space obtained by GNSS-supported orientation of four photogrammetric blocks, acqu...

L'articolo descrive una ricerca in itinere relativa alla realizzazione di un Historical BIM del Duomo di Parma, finalizzato al restauro e alla manutenzione programmata della fabbrica. Partendo dal rilievo integrato laser scanner e fotogrammetrico, attraverso l'analisi di dati esistenti (geometrici, storici, fotografici, etc.) è stata effettuata la...

This text deals with the issues related to the fruition of illusory spaces and to the dissemination of cultural heritage through the illustration of an experience conducted by professors of DICATeA of the University of Parma in the context of an exhibition dedicated to Maria Luigia of Hapsburg. In this context, a digital model of the former church...

Correctly designed roundabouts proved to have positive safety and functional performances. However, they are also affected by peculiar disadvantages. In particular, they are difficult to manoeuvre, especially for heavy vehicle drivers. Despite these concerns, there are currently no driving workload metrics devoted to roundabouts. A novel methodolog...

Among other techniques, aerial and terrestrial photogrammetry have long been used to control the displacements of landslides and glaciers as well as for the detection of terrain morphological changes. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are today an efficient tool to perform data acquisition in rough or difficult terrain, both safely and quickly, avoidin...

The great amount of data that will be produced during the imaging of Mercury by the stereo camera (STC) of the BepiColombo mission needs a compromise with the restrictions imposed by the band downlink that could drastically reduce the duration and frequency of the observations. The implementation of an on-board real time data compression strategy p...

A preliminary survey campaign is essential in projects of restoration, urban renewal, rebuilding or promotion of architectural heritage. Today several survey techniques allow full 3D object restitution and modelling that provides a richer description than 2D representations. A single technique or a combination of several ones might be employed. Esp...

The current work investigates the potential of two low-cost off-the-shelf quadcopters for multi-view reconstruction of sub-vertical rock faces. The two platforms used are a DJI Phantom 1 equipped with a Gopro Hero 3+ Black and a DJI Phantom 3 Professional with integrated camera. The study area is a small sub-vertical rock face. Several flights were...

The current work investigates the potential of two low-cost off-the-shelf quadcopters for multi-view reconstruction of sub-vertical rock faces. The two platforms used are a DJI Phantom 1 equipped with a Gopro Hero 3+ Black and a DJI Phantom 3 Professional with integrated camera. The study area is a small sub-vertical rock face. Several flights were...

A preliminary survey campaign is essential in projects of restoration, urban renewal, rebuilding or promotion of architectural heritage. Today several survey techniques allow full 3D object restitution and modelling that provides a richer description than simple 2D representations. However, the amount of data to collect increases dramatically and a...

In a context rich in history and cultural heritage, such as the Italian one, promotion and enhancement of historical evidences are crucial. The paper describes the case study of the Archaeological Museum of Parma, which, for the main part, conserves evidences found in the roman archaeological site of Veleia (Piacenza, Italy). To enhance the compreh...

A preliminary survey campaign is essential in projects of restoration, urban renewal, rebuilding or promotion of architectural heritage. Today several survey techniques allow full 3D object restitution and modelling that provides a richer description than simple 2D representations. However, the amount of data to collect increases dramatically and a...

In a context rich in history and cultural heritage, such as the Italian one, promotion and enhancement of historical evidences are crucial. The paper describes the case study of the Archaeological Museum of Parma, which, for the main part, conserves evidences found in the roman archaeological site of Veleia (Piacenza, Italy). To enhance the compreh...

The great amount of data that will be produced during the imaging of Mercury by the stereo camera (STC) of the BepiColombo mission needs a compromise with the restrictions imposed by the band downlink that could drastically reduce the duration and frequency of the observations. The implementation of an on-board real time data compression strategy p...

The great amount of data that will be produced during the imaging of Mercury by the stereo camera (STC) of the BepiColombo mission needs a compromise with the restrictions imposed by the band downlink that could drastically reduce the duration and frequency of the observations. The implementation of an on-board real time data compression strategy p...

Geospatial data are today more and more widespread. Many different institutions, such as Geographical Institutes, Public Administrations, collaborative communities (e.g., OSM) and web companies, make available nowadays a large number of maps. Besides this cartography, projects of digitizing, georeferencing and web publication of historical maps hav...

Geospatial data are today more and more widespread. Many different institutions, such as Geographical Institutes, Public Administrations, collaborative communities (e.g., OSM) and web companies, make available nowadays a large number of maps. Besides this cartography, projects of digitizing, georeferencing and web publication of historical maps hav...

A new experimental method for measuring strain fields in highly deformable materials has been developed. This technique is based on an in-house developed Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system capable of accurately capturing localized or non-uniform strain distributions. Thanks to the implemented algorithm based on a Semi-Global Matching (SGM) appr...

A new experimental method for measuring strain fields in highly deformable materials has been developed. This technique is based on an in-house developed Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system capable of accurately capturing localized or non-uniform strain distributions. Thanks to the implemented algorithm based on a Semi-Global Matching (SGM) appr...

A new experimental method for measuring strain fields in highly deformable materials has been developed. This technique is based on an in-house developed Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system capable of accurately capturing localized or non-uniform strain distributions. Thanks to the implemented algorithm based on a Semi-Global Matching (SGM) appr...

The research group with the responsibility of the STereo Camera (STC) for the ESA BepiColombo mission to Mercury, has realized an innovative and compact camera design in which the light collected independently by two optical channels at ±20° with respect to the nadir direction converges on unique bidimensional detector. STC will provide the 3Dmappi...

The research group with the responsibility of the STereo Camera (STC) for the ESA BepiColombo mission to Mercury, has realized an innovative and compact camera design in which the light collected independently by two optical channels at ±20° with respect to the nadir direction converges on unique bidimensional detector. STC will provide the 3Dmappi...

The research group with the responsibility of the STereo Camera (STC) for the ESA BepiColombo mission to Mercury, has realized an innovative and compact camera design in which the light collected independently by two optical channels at ±20° with respect to the nadir direction converges on unique bidimensional detector. STC will provide the 3Dmappi...

The research group with the responsibility of the STereo Camera (STC) for the ESA BepiColombo mission to Mercury, has realized an innovative and compact camera design in which the light collected independently by two optical channels at ±20° with respect to the nadir direction converges on unique bidimensional detector. STC will provide the 3Dmappi...

Photogrammetry has been used since long time to periodically control the evolution of landslides, either from aerial images as well as from ground. Landslides control and monitoring systems face a large variety of cases and situations: in hardly accessible environments, like glacial areas and high mountain locations, it is not simple finding a surv...

The observation of the structure of the city and its inhabitants, and how such system evolves in time, is essential in almost all land planning and urban development activities, as well as in any historical study. Historical GIS in the last decade proved to be one of the most promising frameworks, that can provide innovative tools and methodologica...

Image-based deformation measurement (IBDM) techniques entail the use of image sequences for extracting metric information to be compared over time. Their applications may concern several domains, such as civil and mechanical engineering as well as geosciences. The rationale behind IBDM and the methodological classification are discussed in the pape...

The objective of this paper is to highlight current trends in photogrammetry, trying to foresee where they will lead the discipline in the next years. To this aim, first some remarks on the challenges brought to photogrammetry by other sensors and a brief historical survey of some research topics, where an increasing convergence between photogramme...

Due to the recent improvements of automatic measurement procedures in photogrammetry, multi-view 3D reconstruction technologies are becoming a favourite survey tool. Rapidly widening structure-from-motion (SfM) software packages offer significantly easier image processing workflows than traditional photogrammetry packages. However, while most orien...

Though landslide alert is based on monitoring systems capable of high frequency, highly accurate, continuous-operation photogrammetry has been used since long time to periodically control the evolution of landslides. In this chapter, a fixed terrestrial stereo photogrammetric system is presented. It has been developed to monitor landslides and, in...

In this chapter, the application of close-range photogrammetry for deformation measurements in the field of landslide investigation and monitoring is discussed. Main advantages of this approach are the non-contact operational capability, the large covered area on the slope to analyze, the high degree of automation, the high acquisition rate, the ch...

In 2005 the MIUR co-financed an internationalization project coordinated by prof. Paolo Giandebiaggi and entitled Survey of the amphitheatre in Durrës: understanding a monument for the enhancement of world cultural heritage. The collaboration between several Italian and Albanian partners made it possible to continue the work initiated in 2004 till...

This paper is the outcome of a specific task group of the RILEM Technical Committee 241-MCD “Mechanisms of Cracking and Debonding in Asphalt and Composite Pavements”. The group on “Advanced Measurement Techniques” was established in 2011 to investigate DIC applications for non-destructive and non-contact measurements of strain fields during laborat...

The role of asphalt modifiers and/or modified fillers on the cracking behaviour of asphalt mixtures is extremely complex and has not been fully explained. To characterize the mechanical influence of fillers on asphalt mixture cracking behaviour it is essential to assess the viscoelastic properties of the mastic. Accurate description of strain evolu...

Scene's 3D modelling, gesture recognition and motion tracking are fields in rapid and continuous development which have caused growing demand on interactivity in video-game and e-entertainment market. Starting from the idea of creating a sensor that allows users to play without having to hold any remote controller, the Microsoft Kinect device was c...

The growing use of UAS platform for aerial photogrammetry comes with a new family of Computer Vision highly automated processing software expressly built to manage the peculiar characteristics of these blocks of images. It is of interest to photogrammetrist and professionals, therefore, to find out whether the image orientation and DSM generation m...

Encouraged by the growing interest in automatic 3D image-based reconstruction, the development and improvement of robust stereo matching techniques is one of the most investigated research topic of the last years in photogrammetry and computer vision. The paper is focused on the comparison of some stereo matching algorithms (local and global) which...

Photogrammetry has been used since long to periodically control the evolution of landslides; however, true monitoring is reserved to robotic total stations and ground based InSAR systems, capable of high frequency, high accurate 24h/day response. This paper presents the first results of a fixed terrestrial stereo photogrammetric system developed to...

Nowadays, the scientific institutions involved in planetary mapping are working on new strategies to produce accurate high resolution DTMs from space images at planetary scale, usually dealing with extremely large data volumes. From a methodological point of view, despite the introduction of a series of new algorithms for image matching (e.g. the S...

Several high-altitude slope instability phenomena, involving rock blocks of different volumes, have been observed in recent years. The increase in these phenomena could be correlated to climatic variations and to a general increase in temperature that has induced both ice melting with consequent water seepage and glacial lowering, with a consequent...

The paper describes the main features of the optimized version of Dense Matcher software, developed by the University of Parma, for planetary mapping.

Demand for high-accuracy digital terrain models (DTMs) in the Alpine region has been steadily increasing in recent years in valleys as well as high mountains. In the former, the determination of the geo-mechanical parameters of rock masses is the main objective; global warming, which causes the retreat of glaciers and the reduction of permafrost, i...

Terrestrial photogrammetry should be the survey technique of choice when updating large scale urban maps and GIS databases, where 3D data and attribute data are required. Its main drawback is the need for Ground Control Points (GCP) to reference the survey. To make image georeferencing easier and to provide control information, the use of a simple...

The paper outlines a method to compare two digital surfaces of the same rock face to detect major changes resulting from detached rocks and deformations. A terrestrial laser scanning survey is used for data gathering. After georeferencing, if the cliff has a complex morphology, a 3D segmentation algorithm is applied to split the whole rock surface...

The present paper illustrates a working methodology for the stability evaluation of slopes in permafrost conditions in order to draw up an hazard map. The method developed has been applied to a basin named Pellaud, located in the Rhêmes Valley (Aosta Valley Autonomous Region, Northwestern Italy), where several instability phenomena have been record...

The paper outlines a method to compare two digital surfaces of the same rock face to detect major changes resulting from detached rocks and deformations. A terrestrial laser scanning survey is used for data gathering. After georeferencing, if the cliff has a complex morphology, a 3D segmentation algorithm is applied to split the whole rock surface...

Nell'ultimo decennio si è assistito in ambito fotogrammetrico ad una sempre maggior diffusione di tecniche automatiche che permettono, anche ai non addetti ai lavori, una semplice e rapida applicazione di tali tecniche nei più disparati ambiti. Oggigiorno esistono diversi prodotti commerciali o freeware che implementano tecniche di orientamento aut...

High resolution DTMs, suitable for geomorphological studies of planets and asteroids, are today among the main scientific goals of space missions. In the framework of the BepiColombo mission, we are experimenting the use of different matching algorithms as well as the use of different geometric transformation models between stereo pairs, assessing...

Two-dimensional Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is widely accepted and commonly used in the field of experimental mechanics as a practical and effective tool for quantitative in-plane deformation measurement of an object surface. Cross-Correlation and Least Square Matching are the two most popular techniques for the extraction of image corresponden...

Three-dimensional assessment and modelling of fractured rock slopes is a challenging task. The reliability of the fracture network definition is of paramount importance for several engineering and geotechnical applications, and so far, different approaches have been proposed to improve the assessment procedure. A thorough knowledge of the actual fr...

The Stereo Camera (STC) of the SIMBIO-SYS imaging suite of the BepiColombo ESA mission to Mercury is based on an innovative and compact design in which the light independently collected by two optical channels at +/-20° separation with respect to nadir falls on a common bidimensional detector. STC adopts a novel stereo acquisition mode, based on th...

In mining operations the evaluation of the stability condition of the excavated front are critic to ensure a safe and correct planning of the subsequent activities. The procedure currently used to this aim has some shortcomings: safety for the geologist, completeness of data collection and objective documentation of the results. In the last decade...

In the generation of Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) from space images area-based image matching techniques are used in most cases; the image matching strategy, though, is to be tailored to the specific mission characteristics. In this paper, a series of tests have been performed with real and synthetic space images to study the performance of our im...