The Virtual Museum of the Tiber Valley Project

[EN] The aim of the Virtual Museum of the Tiber Valley project is the creation of an integrated digital system for the knowledge, valorisation and communication of the cultural landscape, archaeological and naturalistic sites along the Tiber Valley, in the Sabina area between Monte Soratte and the ancient city of Lucus Feroniae (Capena). Virtual reality applications, multimedia contents, together with a web site, are under construction and they will be accessed inside the museums of the territory and in a central museum in Rome. The different stages of work will cover the building of a geo-spatial archaeological database, the reconstruction of the ancient potential landscape and the creation of virtual models of the major archaeological sites. This paper will focus on the methodologies used and on present and future results.[ES] El objetivo del proyecto del Museo Virtual del Valle del Tiber es la creación de un sistema digital integrado para el conocimiento, la valorización y la comunicación del paisaje cultural, arqueológico y natural a lo largo del valle del Tíber, en la zona Sabina entre Monte Soratte y la antigua ciudad de Lucus Feroniae (Capena). Actualmente están en proceso de construcción varias aplicaciones de realidad virtual, contenidos multimedia, junto con un sitio web, a los que se tendrá acceso en diversos museos de la zona así como en un museo central ubicado en Roma. Las diferentes fases de trabajo se centrarán en la construcción de una base de datos arqueológicos geo-espacial, en la reconstrucción del paisaje antiguo y en la creación de los modelos virtuales de los sitios arqueológicos más importantes. Este documento se centra en la metodología utilizada, desgranado los resultados presentes y futuros esperados.Arnoldus Huyzendveld, A.; Di Ioia, M.; Ferdani, D.; Palombini, A.; Sanna, V.; Zanni, S.; Pietroni, E. (2012). The Virtual Museum of the Tiber Valley Project. Virtual Archaeology Review. 3(7):97-101. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2012.4396OJS9710137ADAM, J.P. (1988): L'arte di costruire presso i romani, Longanesi, Milano.CAMBI, F. (2004): "Le campagne di Falerii e di Capena dopo la romanizzazione", in Bridging the Tiber, London, pp. 75-102.COARELLI, F. (2009): "La romanizzazione della Sabina", in F. Coarelli et alii, "Falacrinae. Le origini di Vespasiano", Roma, pp. 11-17.DI GIUSEPPE, H. (2005): "Villae, villulae e fattorie nella Media Valle del Tevere, in Roman Villas around the Urbs: interaction with landscape and environment", in the Proceedings of a conference held at the Swedish Institute in Rome (September, 17-18, 2004), Roma.GROS, P. & TORELLI, M. (2007): Storia dell'urbanistica. Il mondo romano, Laterza, Roma.MORACHIELLO, P. & FONTANA, V. (2009): L'architettura del mondo romano, Laterza, Roma.PAROTTO, M. (2008): "Evoluzione paleogeografica dell'area romana: una breve sintesi", in Funiciello R., Praturlon A. & Giordano G. (ed) La Geologia di Roma dal centro storico alla periferia. Memorie Descrittive della Carta Geologica d'Italia, LXXX, pp. 25-39.SANTORO, P. (2006): "L'Etruria e i Sabini del Tevere: influenze culturali e commerciali", in Archeologia in Etruria meridionale, atti delle giornate di studio in ricordo di Mario Moretti (Civita Castellana, 14-15 novembre 2003), Roma, pp. 49-64.STERNINI, M. (2004): La Romanizzazione della Sabina Tiberina, Bari.TARQUINI, S., ISOLA, I., FAVALLI, M., MAZZARINI, F., BISSON, M., PARESCHI, M.T., BOSCHI, E. (2007): "TINITALY/01: a new Triangular Irregular Network of Italy", in Annals of Geophysics, nº 50, pp. 407-425.TARQUINI, S., VINCI, S., FAVALLI, M., DOUMAZ, F., FORNACIAI, A., NANNIPIERI, L. (2012): "Release of a 10-m-resolution DEM for the Italian territory: Comparison with global-coverage DEMs and anaglyph-mode exploration via the web", in Computers & Geosciences 38, 168-170. doi: doi:10.1016/j.cageo.2011.04.018. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2011.04.018VITRUVIO, De Architectura

Analysis of Visualisation and Interaction Tools Authors

This document provides an in-depth analysis of visualization and interaction tools employed in the context of Virtual Museum. This analysis is required to identify and design the tools and the different components that will be part of the Common Implementation Framework (CIF). The CIF will be the base of the web-based services and tools to support the development of Virtual Museums with particular attention to online Virtual Museum.The main goal is to provide to the stakeholders and developers an useful platform to support and help them in the development of their projects, despite the nature of the project itself. The design of the Common Implementation Framework (CIF) is based on an analysis of the typical workflow ofthe V-MUST partners and their perceived limitations of current technologies. This document is based also on the results of the V-MUST technical questionnaire (presented in the Deliverable 4.1). Based on these two source of information, we have selected some important tools (mainly visualization tools) and services and we elaborate some first guidelines and ideas for the design and development of the CIF, that shall provide a technological foundation for the V-MUST Platform, together with the V-MUST repository/repositories and the additional services defined in the WP4. Two state of the art reports, one about user interface design and another one about visualization technologies have been also provided in this document

Virtual Restoration and Virtual Reconstruction in Cultural Heritage: Terminology, Methodologies, Visual Representation Techniques and Cognitive Models

Today, the practice of making digital replicas of artworks and restoring and recontextualizing them within artificial simulations is widespread in the virtual heritage domain. Virtual reconstructions have achieved results of great realistic and aesthetic impact. Alongside the practice, a growing methodological awareness has developed of the extent to which, and how, it is permissible to virtually operate in the field of restoration, avoid a false sense of reality, and preserve the reliability of the original content. However, there is not yet a full sharing of meanings in virtual restoration and reconstruction domains. Therefore, this article aims to clarify and define concepts, functions, fields of application, and methodologies. The goal of virtual heritage is not only producing digital replicas. In the absence of materiality, what emerges as a fundamental value are the interaction processes, the semantic values that can be attributed to the model itself. The cognitive process originates from this interaction. The theoretical discussion is supported by exemplar case studies carried out by the authors over almost twenty years. Finally, the concepts of uniqueness and authenticity need to be again pondered in light of the digital era. Indeed, real and virtual should be considered as a continuum, as they exchange information favoring new processes of interaction and critical thinking

Temporal Lensing: An Interactive and Scalable Technique for Web3D/WebXR Applications in Cultural Heritage

Today, Web3D technologies and the rise of new standards, combined with faster browsers and better hardware integration, allow the creation of engaging and interactive web applications that target the field of cultural heritage. Functional, accessible, and expressive approaches to discovering the past starting from the present (or vice-versa) are generally a strong requirement. Cultural heritage artifacts, decorated walls, etc. can be considered as palimpsests with a stratification of different actions over time (modifications, restorations, or even reconstruction of the original artifact). The details of such an articulated cultural record can be difficult to distinguish and communicate visually, while entire archaeological sites often exhibit profound changes in terms of shape and function due to human activities over time. The web offers an incredible opportunity to present and communicate enriched 3D content using common web browsers, although it raises additional challenges. We present an interactive 4D technique called “Temporal Lensing”, which is suitable for online multi-temporal virtual environments and offers an expressive, accessible, and effective way to locally peek into the past (or into the future) by targeting interactive Web3D applications, including those leveraging recent standards, such as WebXR (immersive VR on the web). This technique extends previous approaches and presents different contributions, including (1) a volumetric, temporal, and interactive lens approach; (2) complete decoupling of the involved 3D representations from the runtime perspective; (3) a wide range applications in terms of size (from small artifacts to entire archaeological sites); (4) cross-device scalability of the interaction model (mobile devices, multi-touch screens, kiosks, and immersive VR); and (5) simplicity of use. We implemented and developed the described technique on top of an open-source framework for interactive 3D presentation of CH content on the web. We show and discuss applications and results related to three case studies, as well as integrations of the temporal lensing with different input interfaces for dynamically interacting with its parameters. We also assessed the technique within a public event where a remote web application was deployed on tablets and smartphones, without any installation required by visitors. We discuss the implications of temporal lensing, its scalability from small to large virtual contexts, and its versatility for a wide range of interactive 3D applications

A Novel Immersive VR Game Model for Recontextualization in Virtual Environments: The μVRModel

In recent years, immersive VR had a great boost in terms of adoption and research perspectives, especially those regarding the serious gaming universe. Within the cultural heritage field, virtual re-contextualization of items is a crucial task to be accomplished by individuals to understand a 3D reconstructed environment as a whole and to assign a meaning and a value to a specific cultural object. Immersive VR and consumer HMDs still present several issues related to motion sickness and locomotion: the interest in real-walking techniques outperforming other locomotion methods is growing year by year, although limited by physical constraints, higher costs, or current technology. In this work, we propose a novel game model (μVR) that combines real-walking techniques and an adaptive, game-driven, multi-scale progression to craft immersive re-contextualization applications. The presented model aims to minimize motion sickness while fully exploiting the physical tracked area and augmenting the understanding of what the user is experiencing at different world scales. We define and formalize the μVR model and its components mathematically for the sake of reproducibility, then we present results from a pilot test planned to validate the model on real users. Results assure the usability and effectiveness of VR model even if further implementation needs to be done

User eXperience (UX) Evaluation for MR Cultural Applications: The CEMEC Holographic Showcases in European Museums

Within the EU CEMEC project framework, a novel approach for using holographic showcases in museums has been conceived and experimented upon in different venues in the context of an itinerant exhibition dealing with Early Medieval European collections. The purpose of this holographic showcase, the so-called “box of stories”, is to improve the link and interaction between real and virtual contents in the museum’s context, making the exhibited object “alive” in the visitors’ perception. An Avar sword and a Byzantine treasure have been used as the main case studies, and they have been experienced in the museums of several European regions by audiences with different cultural backgrounds. This has been a great opportunity to carry out user experience (UX) evaluations in order to collect feedback (from about 600 museum visitors) regarding the attractiveness of such a mixed reality (MR) system, its usability, the comprehension of the contents, the efficacy of the logistics and environmental conditions, as well as the educational impact. The results of such inquiries helped the CNR ISPC team to identify the most meaningful User eXperience Analytics (UXA) able to support the work of UX evaluators and UX designers to assess the efficacy of digital cultural products. Indeed, this manuscript presents UXA and tries to draft a concrete and effective evaluation model for future digital projects for museum contexts

User eXperience (UX) Evaluation for MR Cultural Applications: The CEMEC Holographic Showcases in European Museums

Within the EU CEMEC project framework, a novel approach for using holographic showcases in museums has been conceived and experimented upon in different venues in the context of an itinerant exhibition dealing with Early Medieval European collections. The purpose of this holographic showcase, the so-called “box of stories”, is to improve the link and interaction between real and virtual contents in the museum’s context, making the exhibited object “alive” in the visitors’ perception. An Avar sword and a Byzantine treasure have been used as the main case studies, and they have been experienced in the museums of several European regions by audiences with different cultural backgrounds. This has been a great opportunity to carry out user experience (UX) evaluations in order to collect feedback (from about 600 museum visitors) regarding the attractiveness of such a mixed reality (MR) system, its usability, the comprehension of the contents, the efficacy of the logistics and environmental conditions, as well as the educational impact. The results of such inquiries helped the CNR ISPC team to identify the most meaningful User eXperience Analytics (UXA) able to support the work of UX evaluators and UX designers to assess the efficacy of digital cultural products. Indeed, this manuscript presents UXA and tries to draft a concrete and effective evaluation model for future digital projects for museum contexts

Multispectral UAV Data and GPR Survey for Archeological Anomaly Detection Supporting 3D Reconstruction

Archeological prospection and 3D reconstruction are increasingly combined in large archeological projects that serve both site investigation and dissemination of results. This paper describes and validates a method for using multispectral imagery captured by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), subsurface geophysical surveys, and stratigraphic excavations to evaluate the role of 3D semantic visualizations for the collected data. The information recorded by various methods will be experimentally reconciled using the Extended Matrix and other original open-source tools, keeping both the scientific processes that generated them and the derived data separate, transparent, and reproducible. This structured information makes immediately accessible the required variety of sources useful for interpretation and reconstructive hypotheses. The application of the methodology will use the first available data from a five-year multidisciplinary investigation project at Tres Tabernae, a Roman site near Rome, where numerous non-destructive technologies, as well as excavation campaigns, will be progressively deployed to explore the site and validate the approaches

Bringing the Illusion of Reality Inside Museums—A Methodological Proposal for an Advanced Museology Using Holographic Showcases

The basic idea of a hologram is an apparition of something that does not exist but appears as if it was just in front of our eyes. These illusion techniques were invented a long time ago. The philosopher and alchemist Giovanni Battista della Porta invented an effect that was later developed and brought to fame by Prof. J. H. Pepper (1821–1900) and applied in theatrical performances. The innovation nowadays consists in the adopted technology to produce them. Taking advantage of the available digital technologies, the challenge we are going to discuss is using holograms in the museum context, inside showcases, to realize a new form of scenography and dramaturgy around the exhibited objects. Case studies will be presented, with a detailed analysis of the EU project CEMEC (Connecting Early Medieval European Collections), where holographic showcases have been designed, built and experimented in EU museums. In this case, the coexistence in the same space of the real artifact and the virtual contents, and interior setup of the showcase, its dynamic lighting system, the script and the sound, converge to create an expressive unity. The reconstruction of sensory and symbolic dimensions that are ‘beyond’ any museum object can take the visitor in the middle of a lively and powerful experience with such technology, and represents an advancement in the museological sector. User experience results and a list of best practices will be presented in the second part of the paper, out of the tests and research activities conducted in these three years of the project