592 research outputs found
VIRTUAL DIVING IN THE UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF CALA MINNOLA
The paper presents the application of the technologies and methods defined in the VISAS project for the case study of the underwater archaeological site of Cala Minnola located in the island of Levanzo, in the archipelago of the Aegadian Islands (Sicily, Italy). The VISAS project (http://visas-project.eu) aims to improve the responsible and sustainable exploitation of the Underwater Cultural Heritage by means the development of new methods and technologies including an innovative virtual tour of the submerged archaeological sites. In particular, the paper describes the 3D reconstruction of the underwater archaeological site of Cala Minnola and focus on the development of the virtual scene for its visualization and exploitation. The virtual dive of the underwater archaeological site allows users to live a recreational and educational experience by receiving historical, archaeological and biological information about the submerged exhibits, the flora and fauna of the place
Digital Technologies for the Sustainable Development of the Accessible Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites
In recent years, the development in digital technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) has evolved rapidly. These technologies are currently in the process of creating driving change in the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs), representing innovative means to share information, facilitating access and increasing the value and public awareness on Cultural and Natural Heritage. This is particularly relevant for underwater environments, where the most interesting cultural and naturalistic sites are accessible only to scuba divers, or not accessible at all, due to depth and/or environmental constraints. In addition, in underwater sites, guided diving tours are carried out by professionals that usually describe the area to be visited during the predive briefings; such step is needed due to the impossibility of underwater verbal communication without dedicated equipment, a practice very rarely adopted for recreational diving. So, these difficulties make it almost impossible to replicate under the sea, the guided tour approach that is usually offered in on-land museums. Considering such limitations, several technological applications are emerging to increase the accessibility underwater and enrich users' experience both for divers and nondivers. This work aims to identify the potential of underwater sites (either cultural or natural) to support the development of sustainable tourism (economic, environmental, cultural and social) in the Mediterranean. Moreover, it focuses on supplying local/regional authorities and stakeholders with a multidisciplinary plan for managing Underwater Museums and Knowledge Centres, by promoting innovation in the diving industry and improving users'/tourists' experience through value-added services and cutting-edge technologies
Making the invisible visible:Underwater Maltaâa virtual museum for submerged cultural heritage
The seabed can be considered as the worldâs largest museum, and underwater sites exâ
plored and studied so far provide priceless information on human interaction with the sea. In recogâ
nition of the importance of this cultural resource, UNESCO, in its 2001 Convention on the Protection
of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, determined that objects/sites should be preserved in situ,
whilst also advocating for public access and sharing. The implementation of these principles is not
without difficulties. Some states have opened up underwater sites to the publicâmainly through
diving, yet the vast majority of the worldâs population does not dive. In Malta, 7000 years of human
occupation is reflected in and on the landscape, and recent offshore surveys show that the islandsâ
long and complex history has also left an indelible mark on the seabed. Besides difficulties related
to their protection and management, these sites also present a challenge with regard to sharing and
communicating. Recent advances in underwater imaging and processing software have accelerated
the development of 3D photogrammetry of submerged sites and the idea for a virtual museum was
born. The virtual museum, UnderwaterMalta, was created out of a need to share the plethora of
underwater sites located on the seabed of the Maltese Islands. A multitude of digital tools are used
to share and communicate these sites, offering visitors a dry dive into submerged sites that would
otherwise remain invisible to the vast majority of the public. This paper discusses the basic principle
of the sharing of underwater cultural heritage and the difficulties that beset the implementation of
such a principle. A detailed explanation and evaluation of the methods used to gather the raw data
needed is set in the context of the particular and unique working conditions related to deep water
sites. The workings of this paper are based on firstâhand experiences garnered through the recordâ
ing of numerous wrecks over the years and the creation and launch of The Virtual MuseumâUnderâ
water Maltaâa comprehensive virtual museum specifically built for âdisplayingâ underwater arâ
chaeological sites that are otherwise invisible to the general public.peer-reviewe
USING VIRTUAL OR AUGMENTED REALITY for the TIME-BASED STUDY of COMPLEX UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS
International audienceCultural Heritage (CH) resources are partial, heterogeneous, discontinuous, and subject to ongoing updates and revisions. The use of semantic web technologies associated with 3D graphical tools is proposed to improve access, exploration, exploitation and enrichment of these CH data in a standardized and more structured form. This article presents the monitoring work developed for more than ten years on the excavation of the Xlendi site. Around an exceptional shipwreck, the oldest from the Archaic period in the Western Mediterranean, we have set up a unique excavation at a depth of 110m assisted by a rigorous and continuous photogrammetry campaign. All the collected results are modelled by an ontology and visualized with virtual and augmented reality tools that allow a bidirectional link between the proposed graphical representations and the non-graphical archaeological data. It is also important to highlight the development of an innovative 3D mobile app that lets users study and understand the site as well as experience sensations close to those of a diver visiting the site
Development and integration of digital technologies addressed to raise awareness and access to European underwater cultural heritage. An overview of the H2020 i-MARECULTURE project
The Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH)
represents a vast historical and scientific resource that, often, is
not accessible to the general public due the environment and depth
where it is located. Digital technologies (Virtual Museums, Virtual
Guides and Virtual Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage) provide
a unique opportunity for digital accessibility to both scholars and
general public, interested in having a better grasp of underwater
sites and maritime archaeology. This paper presents the
architecture and the first results of the Horizon 2020 iMARECULTURE
(Advanced VR, iMmersive Serious Games and
Augmented REality as Tools to Raise Awareness and Access to
European Underwater CULTURal heritage) project that aims to
develop and integrate digital technologies for supporting the wide
public in acquiring knowledge about UCH. A Virtual Reality (VR)
system will be developed to allow users to visit the underwater sites
through the use of Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) or digital
holographic screens. Two serious games will be implemented for
supporting the understanding of the ancient Mediterranean
seafaring and the underwater archaeological excavations. An
Augmented Reality (AR) system based on an underwater tablet
will be developed to serve as virtual guide for divers that visit the
underwater archaeological sites
Editorial for the Special Issue: â3D Virtual Reconstruction for Cultural Heritageâ
The use of 3D modelling, computer-aided design (CAD), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) for the acquisition and virtual reconstruction of Cultural Heritage is of great importance in the analysis, study, documentation and dissemination of the past. Reverse engineering (RE) and computer graphics (CG) are also relevant aids for the visualisation and preservation of Cultural Heritage. The integrated use of AR and VR technologies helps to accomplish the full potential of 3D models obtained with reality-based techniques and CAD data, and it aims at interactively communicating the significance of the heritage to non-experts. AR and VR are valid tools for interacting with 3D models and help make culture more accessible to the wider public. Their flexibility can help museum curators to adapt cultural proposals and information about artefacts based on different types of visitorâs categories. These technologies allow visitors to travel through space and time, have fun and get educated on complicated topics. VR/AR technologies are also extremely useful for recreating a lost or hidden environment, leading to a better comprehension of the site or allowing people to discover important sites that are not visible, both for security and conservation reasons
Underwater Cultural Heritage as an Engine for Social, Economic and Cultural Development. State of Research at the University of Cadiz (Andalusia, Spain)
Public access to underwater and maritime cultural heritage has proven to have a very
positive effect on the local economy. This type of heritage is very attractive for the cultural tourism
sector in general and for active and diving tourism. The Nautical and Underwater Archeology Line
of the University of Cadiz, within the framework of the TIDE Project (Interreg Atlantic Area) and
Herakles Project (FEDER-UCA18-107327) have been working on the enhancement of maritime and
underwater heritage through the application of new technologies. In this paper, we will present the
advances in the project in the Strait of Gibraltar, based on the first phase of scientific analysis and on
the definition of a common working methodology that has resulted in a toolkit for the development
of tourism activities linked to the MCH and UCH. Pilot activities under development are focused
on accessible underwater heritage routes, VR applications to create Dry Dive experiences and the
streaming of underwater archaeological works, thanks to a bottom-surface acoustic communication
buoy. Results show that these types of outreach solutions and, by extension, of tourism application,
must be preceded by a rigorous archaeological research process, a study of the target audience
and the evaluation of the carrying capacity of the sites, to avoid falling into the mercantilisation or
deterioration of the UCH. On the other hand, virtual or indirect access solutions are very useful, but
always through the correct interpretation of the heritage.This research was funded by TIDE, or Atlantic Network for Developing HistoricalMaritime Tourism; EAPA_630/2018 is an Interreg funded project. Thiswork has been co-financed by the 2014-2020 ERDFOperational Programme and by theDepartment of Economy, Knowledge, Business andUniversity of the Regional Government of Andalusia. Project reference: FEDER-UCA18-107327. This work has been co-financed by II Convocatoria de Ayudas Para El Fomento de Proyectos Universidad-Empresa Fundacion Campus Tecnologico de Algeciras. Project Reference: FCTA2020-07
VIRTUAL TOUR IN THE SUNKEN âVILLA CON INGRESSO A PROTIROâ WITHIN THE UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK OF BAIAE
The paper presents the application of some Virtual Reality technologies developed in the Horizon 2020 i-MARECulture project to the case study of the sunken âVilla con ingresso a protiroâ, dated around the II century AD, and located in the Marine Protected Area - Underwater Park of Baiae (Naples).The i-MARECulture project (www.imareculture.eu), in fact, aims to improve the public awareness about the underwater cultural heritage by developing new tool and techniques that take advantage of the virtual reality technologies to allow the general public to explore the archaeological remains outside of the submerged environment.To this end, the paper details the techniques and methods adopted for the development of an immersive virtual tour that allow users to explore, through a storytelling experience, a virtual replica and a 3D hypothetical reconstruction of the complex of the âVilla con ingresso a protiroâ.</p
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