Laser scanning and data integration for three-dimensional digital recording of complex historical structures: The case of mevlana museum

Terrestrial laser scanning method is widely used in three-dimensional (3-D) modeling projects. Nevertheless it usually requires measurement data from other sources for full measurement of the shapes. In this study a 3-D model of the historical Mevlana Museum (Mevlana Mausoleum) in Konya, Turkey was created using state-of-the art measurement techniques. The building was measured by terrestrial laser scanner (TLS). In addition, some shapes of the indoor area were measured by a time-of-flight camera. Thus, a 3-D model of the building was created by combining datasets of all measurements. The point cloud model was created with 2.3 cm and 2.4 cm accuracy for outdoor and indoor measurements, and then it was registered to a georeferenced system. In addition a 3-D virtual model was created by mapping the texture on a mesh derived from the point cloud.