Digital Technologies in Cultural Heritage Documentation
Summary
Advances in digital technologies have profoundly reshaped the documentation, analysis and management of cultural heritage. High‐resolution 3D scanning, photogrammetry and LiDAR enable precise capture of complex geometries, while Building Information Modelling (BIM) and its heritage‐specific derivative, Historic BIM (HBIM), facilitate integration of geometric data with semantic and conservation metadata. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) support multi‐scale spatial analysis and web‐based dissemination, and machine learning algorithms are increasingly applied to automate feature recognition and condition monitoring. Immersive environments such as virtual and augmented reality broaden public engagement and interpretive opportunities. The convergence of data‐rich digital twins, interoperable databases and cloud‐based platforms fosters collaborative research, remote conservation planning and adaptive reuse of heritage assets on a global scale.
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Digital Technologies in Cultural Heritage Documentation publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in digital technologies in cultural heritage documentation across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Building Information Modelling (BIM): A digital process for creating and managing detailed parametric models of built assets, integrating geometry with data on materials and performance.
Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM): An adaptation of BIM tailored to heritage contexts, incorporating semantic layers for historical, artistic and conservation metadata.
Photogrammetry: Image‐based technique that reconstructs 3D geometry by analysing overlapping photographs using computer vision algorithms.
LiDAR: Light Detection and Ranging; a remote‐sensing method that measures distances by timing laser pulses to generate precise point clouds.
Point Cloud: A dense set of 3D data points acquired from scanning technologies, representing the external surfaces of an object or environment.
3D Geographic Information System (3D GIS): A spatial analysis platform that manages, visualises and queries multi‐dimensional geographic data for heritage mapping and planning.
References
- Exploiting 2D/3D Geomatics Data for the Management, Promotion, and Valorization of Underground Built Heritage. Smart Cities (2023).
- Digital modes of interpretation of Pictish sculpture. Education and Information Technologies (2023).
- A Review of Heritage Building Information Modeling (H-BIM). Multimodal Technologies and Interaction (2018).
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