A framework study on the use of immersive XR technologies in the cultural heritage domain

Most cultural promotion and dissemination are nowadays performed through the digitization of heritage sites and museums, a necessary requirement to meet the new needs of the public. Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Virtual Reality (VR) have the potential to improve the experience quality and educational effect of these sites by stimulating users’ senses in a more natural and vivid way. In this respect, head-mounted display (HMD) devices allow visitors to enhance the experience of cultural sites by digitizing information and integrating additional virtual cues about cultural artifacts, resulting in a more immersive experience that engages the visitor both physically and emotionally. This study contributes to the development and incorporation of AR, MR, and VR applications in the cultural heritage domain by providing an overview of relevant studies utilizing fully immersive systems, such as headsets and CAVE systems, emphasizing the advantages that they bring when compared to handheld devices. We propose a framework study to identify the key features of headset-based Extended Reality (XR) technologies used in the cultural heritage domain that boost immersion, sense of presence, and agency. Furthermore, we highlight core characteristics that favor the adoption of these systems over more traditional solutions (e.g., handheld devices), as well as unsolved issues that must be addressed to improve the guests’ experience and the appreciation of the cultural heritage. An extensive search of Google Scholar, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, and Wiley Online Library databases was conducted, including papers published from January 2018 to September 2022. To improve review reporting, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used. Sixty-five papers met the inclusion criteria and were classified depending on the study’s purpose: education, entertainment, edutainment, touristic guidance systems, accessibility, visitor profiling, and management. Immersive cultural heritage systems allow visitors to feel completely immersed and present in the virtual environment, providing a stimulating and educational cultural experience that can improve the quality and learning purposes of cultural visits. Nonetheless, the analyzed studies revealed some limitations that must be faced to give a further impulse to the adoption of these technologies in the cultural heritage domain

VR Technologies in Cultural Heritage

This open access book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First International Conference on VR Technologies in Cultural Heritage, VRTCH 2018, held in Brasov, Romania in May 2018. The 13 revised full papers along with the 5 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 21 submissions. The papers of this volume are organized in topical sections on data acquisition and modelling, visualization methods / audio, sensors and actuators, data management, restoration and digitization, cultural tourism

Scan to BIM for 3D reconstruction of the papal basilica of saint Francis in Assisi In Italy

The historical building heritage, present in the most of Italian cities centres, is, as part of the construction sector, a working potential, but unfortunately it requires planning of more complex and problematic interventions. However, policies to support on the existing interventions, together with a growing sensitivity for the recovery of assets, determine the need to implement specific studies and to analyse the specific problems of each site. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the methodology and the results obtained from integrated laser scanning activity in order to have precious architectural information useful not only from the cultural heritage point of view but also to construct more operative and powerful tools, such as BIM (Building Information Modelling) aimed to the management of this cultural heritage. The Papal Basilica and the Sacred Convent of Saint Francis in Assisi in Italy are, in fact, characterized by unique and complex peculiarities, which require a detailed knowledge of the sites themselves to ensure visitor’s security and safety. For such a project, we have to take in account all the people and personnel normally present in the site, visitors with disabilities and finally the needs for cultural heritage preservation and protection. This aim can be reached using integrated systems and new technologies, such as Internet of Everything (IoE), capable of connecting people, things (smart sensors, devices and actuators; mobile terminals; wearable devices; etc.), data/information/knowledge and processes to reach the desired goals. The IoE system must implement and support an Integrated Multidisciplinary Model for Security and Safety Management (IMMSSM) for the specific context, using a multidisciplinary approach

VR Technologies in Cultural Heritage

This open access book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First International Conference on VR Technologies in Cultural Heritage, VRTCH 2018, held in Brasov, Romania in May 2018. The 13 revised full papers along with the 5 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 21 submissions. The papers of this volume are organized in topical sections on data acquisition and modelling, visualization methods / audio, sensors and actuators, data management, restoration and digitization, cultural tourism

Collaborative and Multi-Modal Mixed Reality for Enhancing Cultural Learning in Virtual Heritage

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Knowledge and valorization of historical sites through 3D documentation and modeling

The paper presents the first results of an interdisciplinary project related to the 3D documentation, dissemination, valorization and digital access of archeological sites. Beside the mere 3D documentation aim, the project has two goals: (i) to easily explore and share via web references and results of the interdisciplinary work, including the interpretative process and the final reconstruction of the remains; (ii) to promote and valorize archaeological areas using reality-based 3D data and Virtual Reality devices. This method has been verified on the ruins of the archeological site of Pausilypon, a maritime villa of Roman period (Naples, Italy). Using Unity3D, the virtual tour of the heritage site was integrated and enriched with the surveyed 3D data, text documents, CAAD reconstruction hypotheses, drawings, photos, etc. In this way, starting from the actual appearance of the ruins (panoramic images), passing through the 3D digital surveying models and several other historical information, the user is able to access virtual contents and reconstructed scenarios, all in a single virtual, interactive and immersive environment. These contents and scenarios allow to derive documentation and geometrical information, understand the site, perform analyses, see interpretative processes, communicate historical information and valorize the heritage location

3D MODELS FOR ALL: LOW-COST ACQUISITION THROUGH MOBILE DEVICES IN COMPARISON WITH IMAGE BASED TECHNIQUES. POTENTIALITIES AND WEAKNESSES IN CULTURAL HERITAGE DOMAIN

Nowadays, 3D digital imaging proposes effective solutions for preserving the expression of human creativity across the centuries, as well as is a great tool to guarantee global dissemination of knowledge and wide access to these invaluable resources of the past. Nevertheless, in several cases, a massive digitalisation of cultural heritage items (from the archaeological site up to the monument and museum collections) could be unworkable due to the still high costs in terms of equipment and human resources: 3D acquisition technologies and the need of skilled team within cultural institutions. Therefore, it is necessary to explore new possibilities offered by growing technologies: the lower costs of these technologies as well as their attractive visual quality constitute a challenge for researchers. Besides these possibilities, it is also important to consider how information is spread through graphic representation of knowledge. The focus of this study is to explore the potentialities and weaknesses of a newly released low cost device in the cultural heritage domain, trying to understand its effective usability in museum collections. The aim of the research is to test their usability, critically analysing the final outcomes of this entry level technology in relation to the other better assessed low cost technologies for 3D scanning, such as Structure from Motion (SfM) techniques (also produced by the same device) combined with dataset generated by a professional digital camera. The final outcomes were compared in terms of quality definition, time processing and file size. The specimens of the collections of the Civic Museum Castello Ursino in Catania have been chosen as the site of experimentation

Mixed Reality for Historic Preservation

Digital technologies are becoming widely available to experts in the field of historic preservation. These tools equip experts with the capability to obtain high resolution and accurate information about cultural heritage, which can be accurately reproduced and rematerialized without coming into contact with the physical object itself. This preservation approach is described as non-contact, meaning that it is not invasive to the material integrity of an artifact. Since the turn of the century, stakeholders in the field have increasingly focused their attention on digital technologies for advancing the field. The motivation for experts to preserve cultural heritage with digital technologies starts with the idea of merging the two, and in recent years, innovations in high-resolution digital imaging, recording, processing, modeling and reproduction capabilities have fostered the integration of a virtual environment. Mixed Reality (MR), which the merging of digital and physical worlds, not only allows experts to expand possibilities for preservation interventions once all physical range of actions have been exhausted, but it also makes it possible for experts to intervene digitally before carrying out a preservation treatment. MR can be used as a tool to create hybrid environments for experts and researchers to better manage and understand cultural heritage, which in turn allows them to provide the public with a deeper understanding about cultural heritage. The traditionally object-centric nature of the historic preservation field favors MR over Virtual Reality, since the former engages with the physical site or artifact themselves. By allowing field experts and visitors to visualize scenes in situ from viewpoints that are impossible due to size, content or accessibility issues, the installation of MR’s formless aesthetics engages viewers of cultural heritage through new and innovative ways. The application of MR offers countless strategies for approaching conservation and interpretation projects in historic preservation. But, despite its capacity to enhance the practice of historic preservation, MR poses new technological and methodological questions for the field. As a burgeoning tool and constantly changing field, there have been very few studies conducted on the application of MR to the field of historic preservation. This thesis argues that, on the one hand, MR provides innovative strategies for approaching preservation problems; but on the other hand, the absence of standards, guidelines, and techniques make it difficult to evaluate and propose new projects in the field. As a response to this deficiency, I propose a framework to evaluate and use MR for the preservation of cultural heritage. This framework is first tested to evaluate three case studies, and next, to propose a unique MR strategy for the complex preservation case of the San Baudelio de Berlanga Hermitage in the province of Soria, Spain. This thesis aims to contribute a MR framework and methodology that provides a consistent conceptual approach to MR projects in the field

La ricostruzione virtuale del paesaggio di Torre Guaceto (Brindisi, Italia)

This paper describes the design and development of mobile applications that use Augmented Reality technology (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to improve the dissemination of the archaeological evidence found at the State Nature Reserve and Protected Marine Area of Torre Guaceto (Brindisi); the finds are part of the Bronze Age fortified settlement of Scogli di Apani. In more general terms, they also help in understanding the natural and anthropic character of its coastal territory during the second millennium B.C.La pubblicazione descrive la progettazione e lo sviluppo di applicazioni per dispositivi mobili che sfruttano le tecnologie della Realtà Aumentata (AR) e della Realtà Virtuale( VR) finalizzate a migliorare la divulgazione e la comprensione delle evidenze archeologiche presenti presso la Riserva Naturale dello Stato e Area Marina Protetta di Torre Guaceto (Brindisi), facenti parte dell’insediamento fortificato dell’età del Bronzo di Scogli di Apani e, più in generale, indirizzate alla conoscenza dei caratteri naturali e antropici del suo territorio costiero nel corso del II millennio a.C

Electronic Imaging & the Visual Arts. EVA 2019 Florence

The Publication is following the yearly Editions of EVA FLORENCE. The State of Art is presented regarding the Application of Technologies (in particular of digital type) to Cultural Heritage. The more recent results of the Researches in the considered Area are presented. Information Technologies of interest for Culture Heritage are presented: multimedia systems, data-bases, data protection, access to digital content, Virtual Galleries. Particular reference is reserved to digital images (Electronic Imaging & the Visual Arts), regarding Cultural Institutions (Museums, Libraries, Palace - Monuments, Archaeological Sites). The International Conference includes the following Sessions: Strategic Issues; New Science and Culture Developments & Applications; New Technical Developments & Applications; Cultural Activities – Real and Virtual Galleries and Related Initiatives, Access to the Culture Information. One Workshop regards Innovation and Enterprise. The more recent results of the Researches at national and international level are reported in the Area of Technologies and Culture Heritage, also with experimental demonstrations of developed Activities