Connect Smart Cities and Heritage Through Augmented Reality

This chapter aims to connect the digital resources of knowledge with the historical and cultural heritage in the context of smart cities. Specifically, combining the joint intervention in the Real Sitio of El Pardo and Aranjuez, as well as the Foundation Square of the University of Alcalá, both in Spain. Through traditional historical research and the innovative use of new technologies like augmented reality (AR), a historical, biological and cultural heritage is conserved, consisting of forests, gardens, agricultural spaces, urban centers and palatial residences. Cultural and artistic heritage is a resource of the first magnitude for the sustainable development of smart cities. It evolves with time and society; it is this that determines what goods are to be conserved and protected for posterity, according to the values attributed to them. Hence, the importance of achieving an awareness in society plays an active part in the conservation, enjoyment and dissemination of heritage. In this context, the augmented reality is presented as a powerful tool for contextualizing and disseminating the heritage, as well as to make the resources created more accessible, making an innovative use of the new technologies applied to the transfer of knowledge and the enhancement of a country’s cultural and historical heritage

Computer game technology, collaborative software environments and participatory design

This paper presents a project that explores the possibilities for the use of computer game technologies in the participatory design process. Interactive 3D environments designed with the Virtools development environment were used in a Home Zone consultation process, which allowed participants to navigate, explore and contribute to proposed developments to their residential environment. These technologies were observed to benefit the participatory design process in some areas, namely the visualization and contextualizing of the developments, but also presented traditional technological barriers in others. While these barriers did not completely remove the participants from the process, they reduced the apparent level of engagement of these participants with the process. This paper concludes that the technology overall, is a positive addition to the participatory design process, and while there is still much research to be undertaken, it has many more potential applications in related areas

AUTENTICIDADES Y REALIDAD VIRTUAL. LOS ESTUDIOS DE CASO COLUMNA DE JUPITER Y KALEIDOPHONIC DOG

[EN] The common notion of digital replicas is mostly dominated by the idea that a digital 3D reconstruction should be as faithful to the original artefact as possible. However, the resulting 3D models need often too many computing resources for displaying, so that it is barely possible to experience them with accuracy in a virtual environment. In order to make complex 3D replicas more accessible, the polygonal mesh has to be decimated at the expense of the details loosing “authenticity” in an “auratic” sense. Against this background, we test a pluralistic notion of authenticity that relies more on conserving meanings rather than on conserving physical features by contextualizing 3D objects in VR environments. For this purpose, we use two case studies, the Ladenburg's Jupiter Column (II AD), and the audio-kinetic sculpture Kaleidophonic Dog (1967) by Stephan von Huene.[ES] El concepto habitual de réplicas digitales está mayoritariamente dominado por la idea de que la reconstrucción 3D ha de ser tan fiel al artefacto original como sea posible. No obstante, los modelos 3D resultantes son a menudo tan complejos que es casi imposible experimentarlos con detalle en un entorno virtual al requerir demasiados recursos computacionales para su representación gráfica. Para hacer más accesibles las réplicas 3D hay que diezmar la red poligonal a costa de los detalles perdiendo “autenticidad” en un sentido “aurático”. Con este trasfondo probamos una noción pluralística de autenticidad que consiste más en la conservación de siginificados que en la conservación de características físicas contextualizando objetos 3D en entornos de realidad virtual (RV). Con este fin usamos dos ejemplos, la Columna de Júpiter (II A.D.) y la escultura audiocinética de Stephan von Huene Kaleidophonic Dog (1967).Muñoz Morcillo, J.; Schaaf, F.; Schneider, R.; Robertson-Von Trotha, CY. (2016). AUTHENTICITIES AND VIRTUAL REALITY THE CASE STUDIES JUPITER COLUMN AND KALEIDOPHONIC DOG. En 8th International congress on archaeology, computer graphics, cultural heritage and innovation. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 484-487. https://doi.org/10.4995/arqueologica8.2015.4176OCS48448

Re-contextualizing the standing Sekhmet statues in the Temple of Ptah at Karnak through digital reconstruction and VR experience

Recent trends in the Digital Humanities – conceived as new modalities of collaborative, transdisciplinary and computational research and presentation – also strongly influence research approaches and presentation practices in museums. Indeed, ongoing projects in museums have considerably expanded digital access to data and information, documentation and visualization of ancient ruins and objects. In addition, 3D modelling and eXtended Reality opened up new avenues of interacting with a wider public through digital reconstructions that allow both objects and sites to be presented through visual narratives based on multidisciplinary scholarly research. The article illustrates the use of 3D digital reconstruction and virtual reality to recontextualise standing statues of Sekhmet in the Temple of Ptah at Karnak, where they were found in 1818. Today, they are on display at Museo Egizio, Turin. The theoretical framework of the research and the operational workflow – based on the study of the available archaeological, textual, and pictorial data – is presented here

New Perspectives on the Sanctuary of Aesculapius in Nora (Sardinia): From Photogrammetry to Visualizing and Querying Tools

The ritual space of the Sanctuary of Aesculapius in Nora (Sardinia) is the main focus of a recent archaeological campaign led by the Cultural Heritage Department of the University of Padova. A partnership with 3DOM research group (Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento) has offered new opportunities for a digital investigation of the site. The aim of the project is to map and visualize the sanctuary with methodologies enabling different users to engage with the site in new ways. They offer different web tools for exploring, understanding and interacting with the site, by focusing on 3D modelling, semantic enrichment and the contextualization of digital records. The entire site of Nora has been surveyed by a drone, which produced a digital model of the peninsula. A number of outputs have been used for different scales of visualization and a range of purposes: an open source multi-resolution web renderer is used to navigate the point cloud, labelled using a system of bounding boxes. At the same time it provides access to a 2.5D model of each building. Plugins in QGIS are used to produce extrusions of any mapped feature, gaining height values from the point cloud, and attributes from the shapefile. Photogrammetric models of single ritual artifacts can be located in their own context and be displayed using 3D web renderers

Using Virtual Environments as a Visual Interface for Accessing Cultural Database Contents

Cultural institutions have to deal with an enormous amount of data, which are stored in cultural databases usually designed for and managed by professionals. Difficulties in accessing such databases usually preclude or limit their use for the general public. Moreover, in the historic, artistic and cultural areas, an important part of the information associated to an object is related to its original historical and spatial context, an evidence that is often not disclosed, or is difficult to explain, to the non experts. For this reason, it is important to try to re-contextualize - where possible - the elements of cultural collections in the places where these objects were in the past. To this end, in this work we propose the integration of databases and Virtual Reality technologies to develop novel visual interfaces to improve the accessibility, for the non experts, to the contents of cultural databases. Virtual Reality is used to re-create the contextual environment of the objects in the database, which can be explored to gain new insights on specific elements and to improve the awareness of relationships between them. The use of two different types of Virtual Environments has been investigated in the development of the proposed visual interfaces. Results of their evaluation by a user panel, in order to assess the accessibility and effectiveness of both interfaces in relation to each other and with a classic text-based interface, are also presente

Estudio de los repositorios y plataformas de patrimonio digital en 3D

[EN] Despite the increasing number of three-dimensional (3D) model portals and online repositories catering for digital heritage scholars, students and interested members of the general public, there are very few recent academic publications that offer a critical analysis when reviewing the relative potential of these portals and online repositories. Solid reviews of the features and functions they offer are insufficient; there is also a lack of explanations as to how these assets and their related functionality can further the digital heritage (and virtual heritage) field, and help in the preservation, maintenance, and promotion of real-world 3D heritage sites and assets. What features do they offer? How could their feature list better cater for the needs of the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) sector? This article’s priority is to examine the useful features of 8 institutional and 11 commercial repositories designed specifically to host 3D digital models. The available features of their associated 3D viewers, where applicable, are also analysed, connecting recommendations for future-proofing with the need to address current gaps and weaknesses in the scholarly field of 3D digital heritage. Many projects do not address the requirements stipulated by charters, such as access, reusability, and preservation. The lack of preservation strategies and examples highlights the oxymoronic nature of virtual heritage (oxymoronic in the sense that the virtual heritage projects themselves are seldom preserved). To study these concerns, six criteria for gauging the usefulness of the 3D repositories to host 3D digital models and related digital assets are suggested. The authors also provide 13 features that would be useful additions for their 3D viewers.[ES] A pesar del creciente número de portales de modelos tridimensionales (3D) y repositorios en línea que atienden a los estudiosos del patrimonio digital, a los estudiantes y al público en general, hay muy pocas publicaciones académicas recientes que analizan de forma crítica el potencial relativo de esos portales y repositorios en línea. Tampoco hay suficientes revisiones críticas de las características y funciones que ofrecen, ni muchas explicaciones sobre la forma en que estos activos y su funcionalidad pueden impulsar en el campo del patrimonio digital (y el patrimonio virtual), y ayudar a preservar, mantener y promocionar los sitios y activos del patrimonio 3D del mundo real. ¿Qué características ofrecen? ¿Cómo podría su lista de características satisfacer mejor las necesidades del sector GLAM (galerías, bibliotecas, archivos y museos)? La prioridad de este artículo es examinar las características útiles de 8 depósitos institucionales y 11 comerciales diseñados específicamente para albergar modelos digitales en 3D. También son examinadas las características disponibles de su visores 3D asociados, cuando sea aplicable, y ello conecta con lo recomendado sobre las necesidades futuras y mejoradas para abordar las lagunas y debilidades en el campo académico del patrimonio digital 3D. Muchos proyectos no estudian los requisitos estipulados en las cartas, como son los factores de acceso, la reutilización y la preservación. La escasez de estrategias y ejemplos de preservación pone de relieve el carácter oximorónico del patrimonio virtual (oximorónico en el sentido de que los propios proyectos de patrimonio virtual se preservan con muy poca frecuencia). Para hacer frente a estas preocupaciones, se sugieren seis criterios para calibrar la utilidad de los repositorios 3D para albergar modelos digitales 3D y activos digitales relacionados. Los autores también proporcionan 13 características adicionales que serían útiles en los visores 3D.Champion, E.; Rahaman, H. (2020). Survey of 3D digital heritage repositories and platforms. Virtual Archaeology Review. 11(23):1-15. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2020.13226OJS1151123Aalbersberg, I. J., Cos Alvarez, P., Jomier, J., Marion, C., & Zudilova-Seinstra, E. (2014). Bringing 3D visualization into the online research article. Information Services & Use, 34(1-2), 27-37. https://doi.org/10.3233/ISU-140721Addison, A. C. (2000). Emerging trends in virtual heritage. IEEE Multimedia, 7(2), 22-25. https://doi.org/10.1109/93.848421Alliez, P., Bergerot, L., Bernard, J.-F., Boust, C., Bruseker, G., Carboni, N., Chayani, M., Dellepiane, M., Dell'unto, N., & Dutailly, B. (2017). Digital 3D objects in art and humanities: Challenges of creation, interoperability and preservation. In White paper: A result of the PARTHENOS Workshop held in Bordeaux at Maison des Sciences de l'Homme d'Aquitaine and at Archeovision Lab. (France) (pp. 71). France.Beacham, R., Hugh, D., & Niccolucci, F. (2009). The London Charter. In For computer-based visualization of cultural heritage (Vol. Draft 2.1).Bernard, Y., Barreau, J.-B., Bizien-Jaglin, C., Quesnel, L., Langouët, L., & Daire, M.-Y. (2017). 3D model as a dynamic compilation of knowledge: Interim results on the city of Alet. Virtual Archaeology Review, 8(16). https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2017.5862Boutsi, A.-M., Ioannidis, C., & Soile, S. (2019). An integrated approach to 3D web visualization of cultural heritage heterogeneous datasets. Remote Sensing, 11(21). https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11212508Calin, M., Damian, G., Popescu, T., Manea, R., Erghelegiu, B., & Salagean, T. (2015). 3D modeling for digital preservation of Romanian heritage monuments. Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia, 6, 421-428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aaspro.2015.08.111Champion, E. (2018). The role of 3D models in virtual heritage intrastructures. In A. Benardou, E. Champion, C. Dallas, & L. M. Hughes (Eds.), Cultural Heritage Infrastructures in Digital Humanities (pp. 172). Abingdon, Oxon New York: NY Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315575278Champion, E. (2019). From historical models to virtual heritage simulations. In P. Kuroczyński, M. Pfarr-Harfst, & S. Münster (Eds.), Der Modelle Tugend 2.0 Digitale 3d-Rekonstruktion Als Virtueller Raum Der Architekturhistorischen Forschung Computing in Art and Architecture (Vol. 2, pp. 338-351). Heidelberg, Germany: arthistoricum.net. https://doi.org/10.11588/arthistoricum.515Champion, E., & Rahaman, H. (2019). 3D digital heritage models as sustainable scholarly resources. Sustainability, 11(8), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082425Clarke, M. (2015). The digital dilemma: preservation and the digital archaeological record. Advances in Archaeological Practice, 3(4), 313-330. https://doi.org/10.7183/2326-3768.3.4.313Cots, I., Vilà, J., Diloli, J., Ferré, R., & Bricio, L. (2018). La arqueología virtual: de la excavación arqueológica a la gestión y socialización del patrimonio. Les cases de la Catedral (Tortosa) y el yacimiento protohistórico de La Cella(Salou), Tarragona. Virtual Archaeology Review, 9(19). https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2018.9754Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, P. , Galeazzi, F., & Vassallo, V. (Eds.). (2018). Authenticity and cultural heritage in the age of 3D digital reproductions. Cambridge, UK: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. http://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.27029Doyle, J., Viktor, H., & Paquet, E. (2009). Long-term digital preservation: preserving authenticity and usability of 3-D data. International Journal on Digital Libraries, 10(1), 33-47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00799-009-0051-7Flynn, T. (2019). What happens when you share 3D models online (In 3D)? In J. Grayburn, Z. Lischer-Katz, K. Golubiewski-Davis, & V. Ikeshoji-Orlati (Eds.), 3D/VR in the Academic Library: Emerging Practices and Trends (pp. 73-86). Arlington, USA: Council on Library and Information Resources.Galeazzi, F., Baker, F., Champion, E., Gartski, K., Jeffrey, S., & Kuzminsky, S. (2018). Commentary on 3-D virtual replicas and simulations of the past : "real" or "fake" representations? Current Anthropology, 59(3), 268-286. http://doi.org/10.1086/697489Galeazzi, F., & Franco, P. D. G. D. (2017). Theorising 3D visualisation systems in archaeology: Towards more effective design, evaluations and life cycles. Internet Archaeology(44). http://doi.org/10.11141/ia.44.5Greenop, K., & Barton, J. (2014). Scan, save, and archive: how to protect our digital cultural heritage. The Conversation, 1. https://theconversation.com/scan-save-and-archive-how-to-protect-our-digital-cultural-heritage-22160.Guidazzoli, A., Liguori, M. C., Chiavarini, B., Verri, L., Imboden, S., De Luca, D., & Ponti, F. D. (2017, 31 Oct-4 Nov). From 3D Web to VR historical scenarios: A cross-media digital heritage application for audience development. In 2017 23rd International Conference on Virtual System & Multimedia (VSMM), (pp. 1-8) Dublin, Ireland. https://doi.org/10.1109/VSMM.2017.8346273Huk, T. (2006). Who benefits from learning with 3D models? the case of spatial ability. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 22(6), 392-404. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2729.2006.00180.xIoannides, M., & Quak, E. (Eds.). (2014). 3D research challenges in cultural heritage : A roadmap in digital heritage preservation. NewYork, Dordrecht, London: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44630-0Khronos, G. (2009). OpenGL ES for the web. WebGL Overview. Retrieved 4 March, 2020, from https://www.khronos.org/webgl/Kiourt, C., Koutsoudis, A., Markantonatou, S., & Pavlidis, G. (2016). The 'synthesis' virtual museum. Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, 16(5), 1-9. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.204961Koller, D., Frischer, B., & Humphreys, G. (2009). Research challenges for digital archives of 3D cultural heritage models. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage, 2(3), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1145/1658346.1658347Koutsabasis, P. (2017). Empirical evaluations of interactive systems in cultural heritage: A review. International Journal of Computational Methods in Heritage Science, 1(1), 100-122. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCMHS.2017010107Kuroczynski, P. (2017). Virtual research environment for digital 3D reconstructions : Standards, thresholds and prospects. Studies in Digital Heritage, 1(2), 456-476. https://doi.org/10.14434/sdh.v1i2.23330Lloyd, J. (2016). Contextualizing 3D cultural heritage. In M. Ioannides, E. Fink, R. Brumana, P. Patias, A. Doulamis, J. Martins, & M. Wallace (Eds.), Digital Heritage. Progress in Cultural Heritage: Documentation, Preservation, and Protection (Vol. 1, pp. 859-868). Nicosia, Cyprus: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48496-9_69Maiwald, F., Bruschke, J., Lehmann, C., & Niebling, F. (2019). A 4D information system for the exploration of multitemporal images and maps using photogrammetry, web technologies and VR/AR. Virtual Archaeology Review, 10(21). https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2019.11867McHenry, K., & Bajcsy, P. (2008). An overview of 3d data content, file formats and viewers. Retrieved from Urbana, IL: https://www.archives.gov/files/applied-research/ncsa/8-an-overview-of-3d-data-content-file-formats-and-viewers.pdf.Muñoz Morcillo, J., Schaaf, F., Schneider, R. H., & Robertson-von Trotha, C. Y. (2017). Authenticity through VR-based documentation of cultural heritage. A theoretical approach based on conservation and documentation practices. 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Thompson (Eds.), Human Remains: Another Dimension (pp. 175-184): Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804602-9.00013-8Pauwels, P., Verstraeten, R., De Meyer, R., & Van Campenhout, J. (2008). Architectural Information Modelling for Virtual Heritage Application. In Digital Heritage-Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia, (pp. 18-23).Pavlidis, G., Koutsoudis, A., Arnaoutoglou, F., Tsioukas, V., & Chamzas, C. (2007). Methods for 3D digitization of cultural heritage. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 8(1), 93-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2006.10.007Pletinckx, D., & Nolle, D. (2015). 3D-ICONS: D5.1-Report on 3D publication formats suitable for Europeana. Retrieved from https://zenodo.org/record/1311590#.Xt34Zy97G50. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1311589Potenziani, M., Callieri, M., Dellepiane, M., Corsini, M., Ponchio, F., & Scopigno, R. (2015). 3DHOP: 3D heritage online presenter. 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VSim : Scholarly annotations in real-time 3D environments. Paper presented at the DH-CASE II: Collaborative Annotations on Shared Environments: metadata, tools and techniques in the Digital Humanities - DH-CASE '14, (pp. 1-8.) Fort Collins, CA, USA. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2657480.2657483Statham, N. (2019). Scientific rigour of online platforms for 3D visualisation of heritage. Virtual Archaeology Review, 10(20), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2019.9715Sullivan, E. (2016). Potential pasts: Taking a humanistic approach to computer visualization of ancient landscapes. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, 59(2), 71-88. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-5370.2016.12039.xSullivan, E., Nieves, A. D., & Snyder, L. M. (2017). Making the model: Scholarship and rhetoric in 3-D historical reconstructions. In J. Sayers (Ed.), Making Things and Drawing Boundaries : Experiments in the Digital Humanities. 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MASS CUSTOMIZATION FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE 3D MODELS

International audienceDigital technologies in the last twenty years have offered cultural heritage (CH) new possibilities in conservation and promotion. 3D digitization has especially become more and more affordable and efficient. This leads to massive digitization projects and increasing amount of CH digital data. As an engineering team working on industrial techniques for reverse engineering, we are deeply affected by this effect. In this paper we propose a way to combine semantic information on top of the acquisition and modeling steps in order to manage heterogeneous historical data. We illustrate our approach with a use case composed of three overlapping historical objects related to Nantes' harbour history

WebGIS, 3D modeling and virtual tours to map, record and visualize the cultural, archaeological and landscape heritage: the VisualVersilia project, 3D surveying

This article describes the methodologies and technologies developed during the realization of the WebGIS (Geographic Information System) visualversilia.com, namely a multimedia guide able to map, survey, visualize the rich cultural, archaeological and landscape heritage of Versilia (northwestern Tuscany). It enables users to delve into different temporal settings and to contextualize the local cultural sites within the geographic space of their specific historical periods. The immersive experience is also achieved thanks to the realization of virtual tours and navigable 3D models of archaeological complexes concerning the past and current appearance. This WebGIS is a digital platform, soon available online, for viewing and managing data relative to the cultural sites of Versilia, through their localization on an interactive map with several thematic layers, divided into chronological sub-layers. The aim of the research project is to provide useful information for knowledge, protection and enhancement of the cultural heritage of the area