Fassi Francesco

Francesco Fassi is an Associate Professor at the Politecnico di Milano. He earned his degree in Environmental and Territorial Engineering (2001) and graduated with honours with a PhD in Geodesy and Geomatics. Since 2003, his research has focused on geomatics applied to environmental studies and Cultural Heritage, with particular attention to mobile mapping and photogrammetry for surveying architecture, tunnels, complex/confined environments, and forests, as well as methods for high-resolution data acquisition down to the micrometric scale.He teaches Advanced Surveying Techniques, Topography, and Photogrammetry, and is the Scientific Coordinator, together with Prof. Cristiana Achille, of the 3DSurveyGroup laboratory. He is also a member of the Mantova Lab at the Mantova Campus, within the UNESCO Chair framework. He is a member of ICOMOS Italia and CIPA, where he serves on the Executive Committee. He coordinates several research projects on mixed reality for 3D data visualisation and access, AI applications for cultural heritage, and 3D information systems for buildings, historic gardens, and vegetated environments. He has authored more than 150 scientific publications.

Career

07 Nov 2024 – Achieved the Italian National Scientific Qualification (ASN) for Full Professor (First Level), Competitive Sector 08/A4 – Geomatics

Mar 2019 – Associate Professor (Second Level), SSD ICAR/06 (Topography and Cartography).

Mar 2016 – Fixed-term Researcher Type B (Senior Researcher, RTD-B), SSD ICAR/06.

27 Jan 2015 – Achieved the Italian National Scientific Qualification (ASN) for Associate Professor (Second Level), Competitive Sector 08/A4.

Sep 2013 – Fixed-term Researcher Type A (Junior Researcher, RTD-A), SSD ICAR/06.

27 Apr 2009 – PhD with honours in Geodesy and Geomatics (Politecnico di Milano, 20th cycle). Thesis: “Integration of traditional and innovative technologies for survey and modelling of Cultural Heritage”.

2002 – Licensed Professional Engineer (Environmental and Territorial Engineering sector).

2001 – MSc degree in Environmental and Territorial Engineering (Politecnico di Milano). Thesis: “Not-invasive GPR survey of water pipe and tow ropes” (Supervisor: Prof. Luigi Zanzi).

1994 – Scientific High School Diploma.

Research

• 3D surveying and reality-based modelling (data acquisition and processing workflows).
• BIM/HBIM for Cultural Heritage: reverse engineering “from survey to BIM”, design/development of information models for heritage management.
• Advanced and automated photogrammetry (SfM), including fisheye optics and real-scale accuracy assessment.
• Underwater photogrammetry (methods, calibration, and applications).
• UAV photogrammetry and development of RPAS/UAS systems (aerial surveys and dedicated platforms/solutions).
• Mobile mapping and surveying of complex/confined spaces (multi-sensor and multi-camera systems; approaches for tunnels and challenging environments).
• Laser scanning and photogrammetry–LiDAR integration, including multispectral data integration and texturing/visualization techniques.
• Point cloud processing: automatic feature extraction, classification and semantic enrichment, also using Machine Learning.
• XR for Cultural Heritage: VR/AR/Mixed Reality for visualization, inspection, and maintenance support of complex architectures.
• Web platforms and 3D information systems for managing and sharing models and data (database-driven approaches and web-based CH management).
• Cartography, GIS, and aerial photogrammetry (image orientation, DTM/orthophotos, integration with inertial systems).
• Monitoring (applications and procedures for survey-based control/monitoring).
  

Grants, awards and Honours

Premio EH Thomson (2012) per l'articolo "Surveying and modelling the Main Spire of Milan Cathedral using Multiple Data source". Il premio valorizza l’originalità dei contenuti e il contributo scientifico di grande livello dell’articolo nell’ambito della fotogrammetria. È assegnato da Wiley-Blackwell e dall'ISPRS.

Switch 2 Product Innovation Challenge 2020: con il team ANT-3D (vinto GrantS2P e accesso al programma di accelerazione)

EH Thomson Award (2012) for the paper "Surveying and modelling the Main Spire of Milan Cathedral using Multiple Data source". The award will recognise the originality of the content and the paper's primary value to photogrammetry. It is assigned by Wiley-Blackwell and ISPRS.

Switch 2 Product Innovation Challenge 2020: with the ANT-3D team (won GrantS2P and access to the acceleration program)

Best paper awards:

2022 – Best Poster Paper Award per “LIDAR IMMS vs handheld multicamera system: a stress-test in a mountain trailpath” (ISPRS Archives)

2017 – Best Paper Award per “BIM system for the conservation and preservation of the mosaics of San Marco in Venice” (ISPRS Archives).

2011 – Best Paper Award for “Integrated strategies for the modelling of very large and complex architectures” (ISPRS Archives, 3DARCH 2011).

2010 – Best Poster Paper Award for “Multiple data sources for survey and modelling of very complex architecture” (ISPRS Archives).

Community Service

A member of ICOMOS Italy and ISPRS, he serves on the CIPA Heritage Documentation Executive Committee.

CIPA is one of the oldest International Scientific Committees of ICOMOS (International Council of Monuments and Sites), jointly founded in 1968 with ISPRS (International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing) to facilitate the transfer of technology from the measurement sciences into the heritage documentation and recording disciplines.