A Simple Scanner for High Resolution Imaging of Wall Paintings

The increasing demand for high-resolution digital color imaging of cultural heritage assets such as mural paintings makes it necessary to build image acquisition systems that are easy to use in different conditions and sometimes in environments without sources of electric power. Here, we propose a simple structure of a scanning system in which the motion of the scanning head utilizes gravity as its motion mechanism instead of electricity. This system enables an area image sensor camera to move along the rail at constant speed without an electrical motor, but uses gravity instead. The camera mounted on the camera stage moves slowly at constant speed with continuous shooting mode. Using this method, it is possible to acquire many images and stitch them together to obtain a panoramic image of a big object at high resolution. This paper discusses the structure and application of this system that can acquire high-resolution images.