3D puzzle reconstruction for archeological fragments

The reconstruction of broken artifacts is a common task in archeology domain; it can be supported now by 3D data acquisition device and computer processing. Many works have been dedicated in the past to reconstructing 2D puzzles but very few propose a true 3D approach. We present here a complete solution including a dedicated transportable 3D acquisition set-up and a virtual tool with a graphic interface allowing the archeologists to manipulate the fragments and to, interactively, reconstruct the puzzle. The whole lateral part is acquired by rotating the fragment around an axis chosen within a light sheet thanks to a step-motor synchronized with the camera frame clock. Another camera provides a top view of the fragment under scanning. A scanning accuracy of 100pm is attained. The iterative automatic processing algorithm is based on segmentation into facets of the lateral part of the fragments followed by a 3D matching providing the user with a ranked short list of possible assemblies. The device has been applied to the reconstruction of a set of 1200 fragments from broken tablets supporting a Latin inscription dating from the first century AD.