A light carbon crane as an alternative approach for vertical structures and facade surveying

Aerial surveying is, since more than 100 years, a huge field of research and application in the domain of architecture, archeology and, besides, cultural heritage. Increasing operational capabilities of recent UAV platforms, initially concieved for both civilian and military purposes, are today capable of autonomous flight and self decision making attitudes but must deal with complex regulatory options, resulting on limited operational possibilities, especially in dense urban areas. In France, the drone activity is subject to strict administrative constraints and flying today with high definition heavy-load cameras for SfM1 applications is becoming more and more restrictive. Existing alternatives are captive or remote controlled buoyant aircraft (blimps, balloons...) which are extremely subject to meteorological hazards, especially with turbulent and gusty atmosphere conditions, often incompatible with accurate spatial data gathering needs. Our laboratory developed an original solution to make possible, in a specific surveying context, the vertical deployment of a HD digital camera. This approach should be able to provide, on the basis of almost 10 years or SfM experience, an accurate 3D surveying of existing murals or vertical artifacts, that could guide, when needed, the involved research partners through a restoration and a safeguard process.