Geological and Geotechnical Aspects of the most Significant Deep Landslides in the Danube Area on the Territory of Vojvodina

The largest and the deepest landslides in Serbia occurred on the right valley side of the Danube. General conclusions about landslides along the Danube were obtained on the basis of their comprehensive detailed investigations: the Sloboda bridge in Novi Sad, the Beška bridge, the large settlement of Bocke, and the high-speed railway viaduct in Čortanovci. These areas are ac-tually large unstable slopes with deep and shallow landslides. Deep landslides consist of several sliding blocks with 20-40m in depth. All these landslides were formed in clays and sands of the Pliocene age, in the decayed crust of these sediments. The general conclusions about landslides presented in this paper will be of great use for the needs of construction of new facilities in the entire unstable area along the Danube about 100 km in length.Publishe

Trasformazione digitale delle Collezioni civiche di Ascoli Piceno

In line with current trends and challenges in the field of cultural heritage, the research presented here is the result of the V.I.T.A. project: an initiative on digital cultural heritage that involves museum operators in the digitization and development of digital applications for various works of art and ethnographic elements from the Civic Museums of Ascoli Piceno. The project includes the entire digitization workflow, ranging from three-dimensional modeling to immersive virtual experiences for museums. The work testifies to a fruitful collaboration between universities and cultural institutions, which has led the Marche museum to become a virtuous example in the field of digital transformation of heritage

Trasformazione digitale delle Collezioni civiche di Ascoli Piceno

In line with current trends and challenges in the field of cultural heritage, the research presented here is the result of the V.I.T.A. project: an initiative on digital cultural heritage that involves museum operators in the digitization and development of digital applications for various works of art and ethnographic elements from the Civic Museums of Ascoli Piceno. The project includes the entire digitization workflow, ranging from three-dimensional modeling to immersive virtual experiences for museums. The work testifies to a fruitful collaboration between universities and cultural institutions, which has led the Marche museum to become a virtuous example in the field of digital transformation of heritage

3VR: Vice Versa Virtual Reality Algorithm to Track and Map User Experience

The understanding of how users interact with the virtual cultural heritage could provide digital curators valuable insights into user behaviors and also improve the overall user experience through the ability to observe and record interactions of virtual visitors. This article introduces the new User Behavior (UB) tracking algorithm that we developed investigating a salience of the Virtual Reality (VR) panoramic regions. The algorithm extracts the importance of Region of Interest (ROI) determining patterns of the visitors’ virtual movement and interest in combination with statistics of captured browser activity. The input of our algorithm is the virtual online interactive platform (Virtual Museum of the Civic Art Gallery of Ascoli Piceno in Italy) with 81 16,386 × 8,192 pixels panoramic images and several interactive features including maps, thumbnails, and menus. The software engine of the tracking model “Vice Versa” VR operates on inverse functions of all descriptive functions (descriptors), which are assigned particularly to each interactive feature such as viewing multimedia content and observing the panoramic environment. The tracking experiment was performed online and the web virtual museum key study collected behavior information from 171 visitors around the world. Collected data, multimedia and textual content, and the coordinates of the ROIs are then subjected to standard statistics operations to define common patterns of UBs. Thus, we have discovered that the ROIs are mostly mapped onto the artworks and it is possible to obtain patterns about the main interests of users. The developed tool offers a guideline for the panoramic tours design and the potential benefits for museums are to understand the public, verify the effectiveness of choices, and re-shape a cultural offer based on visitors’ needs. Exploiting this kind of user experience, our algorithm ensures relevant feedback during virtual visits and thus paves the way for further development of the recommender system

A Method for Determining the Shape Similarity of Complex Three-Dimensional Structures to Aid Decay Restoration and Digitization Error Correction

This paper introduces a new method for determining the shape similarity of complex three-dimensional (3D) mesh structures based on extracting a vector of important vertices, ordered according to a matrix of their most important geometrical and topological features. The correlation of ordered matrix vectors is combined with perceptual definition of salient regions in order to aid detection, distinguishing, measurement and restoration of real degradation and digitization errors. The case study is the digital 3D structure of the Camino Degli Angeli, in the Urbino’s Ducal Palace, acquired by the structure from motion (SfM) technique. In order to obtain an accurate, featured representation of the matching shape, the strong mesh processing computations are performed over the mesh surface while preserving real shape and geometric structure. In addition to perceptually based feature ranking, the new theoretical approach for ranking the evaluation criteria by employing neural networks (NNs) has been proposed to reduce the probability of deleting shape points, subject to optimization. Numerical analysis and simulations in combination with the developed virtual reality (VR) application serve as an assurance to restoration specialists providing visual and feature-based comparison of damaged parts with correct similar examples. The procedure also distinguishes mesh irregularities resulting from the photogrammetry process

A Method for Determining the Shape Similarity of Complex Three-Dimensional Structures to Aid Decay Restoration and Digitization Error Correction

This paper introduces a new method for determining the shape similarity of complex three-dimensional (3D) mesh structures based on extracting a vector of important vertices, ordered according to a matrix of their most important geometrical and topological features. The correlation of ordered matrix vectors is combined with perceptual definition of salient regions in order to aid detection, distinguishing, measurement and restoration of real degradation and digitization errors. The case study is the digital 3D structure of the Camino Degli Angeli, in the Urbino’s Ducal Palace, acquired by the structure from motion (SfM) technique. In order to obtain an accurate, featured representation of the matching shape, the strong mesh processing computations are performed over the mesh surface while preserving real shape and geometric structure. In addition to perceptually based feature ranking, the new theoretical approach for ranking the evaluation criteria by employing neural networks (NNs) has been proposed to reduce the probability of deleting shape points, subject to optimization. Numerical analysis and simulations in combination with the developed virtual reality (VR) application serve as an assurance to restoration specialists providing visual and feature-based comparison of damaged parts with correct similar examples. The procedure also distinguishes mesh irregularities resulting from the photogrammetry process

Creativity and digital transition in central Appennine. Innovative design methods and digital technologies as interactive tools to enable heritage regeneration and community engagement

This contribution proposes strategies of reactivation of the central Apennine of Marche Region in Italy through creative design methods and virtual technologies. The research activities are connected to two related PhD projects: one focusing on architectural and urban design, the other one on heritage digitalization and new technologies and to other research activities of our interdisciplinary team. Cagli, a small town of 8.000 inhabitants, is currently undergoing socio-economic transformations that need to be addressed strategically with a cultural and spatial perspective. The research explores regenerative solutions and local development strategies to enhance the city and its cultural landscape. Participatory processes aided by digital tools and innovative design methods are tested in Cagli’s living lab. A “Reactive Map” combines a trans-scalar and multidisciplinary territorial analysis with visions to identify “potential spaces”—ordinary and unused architectures and places—and elaborate strategic solutions. The “Reactive Map” is thus an essential design tool for the definition of a shared strategy of enhancement, transformation and development of the city and its heritage. The map includes overlapping layers that correspond to the steps of the enhancement process, from analysis to scenario building. The initial GIS representation is enriched by the stories of the community collected during the urban walks. In the co-thinking phase the map raises awareness on the areas’ potentials using embedded panoramas for participatory design. With this paper we aim to introduce a new methodological step, a three-dimensional database which is made of point clouds. The result is a highly descriptive 3D environment able to collect analysis and to be enriched in a participatory way. Final output of the research, the map is meant in its broadest sense, as a fully boosting 3D digital technology that represents both a viable and effective solution to involve citizens and an innovative and interdisciplinary tool for knowledge advancement in the fields of architectural and urban design and heritage regeneration

Virtualization and Vice Versa: A New Procedural Model of the Reverse Virtualization for the User Behavior Tracking in the Virtual Museums

In this paper we present a method of the user behavior (UB) tracking by capturing and measuring user activities through the defined procedural model of the reverse virtualization process, implementing a proof of concept on a real case scenario: the Civic Gallery of Ascoli. In order to define the universal model of such “vice versa” virtual reality (VR) experience, we assigned particular descriptive functions (descriptors) to each interactive feature of the virtual user space. In this virtualization phase we store user interaction information locally using the web-socket streams protocol, ensuring complete control and manipulation of monitored functions. Our algorithm firstly collects the user interaction data and extracts the descriptors’ arguments into the indexed vector of corresponding variables. The next step determines UB pattern by solving the inverse descriptive functions in combination with an appropriate statistical analysis of gathered data. The final result of the proposed method is the repository of salient data that is used in the further user experience improvement, as well as to enable the museums to distinguish the most important points of the visitor interest in the virtual web tours. Our approach also offers a potential benefit of obtained results in an automatic calculation and prediction of UB patterns using artificial intelligence (AI