Bridging Cultural Heritage Ontologies in VR Environment. A framework for querying and reasoning on the Temple of Venus and Rome restoration and documentation

VR applied to Architectural and Archaeological Heritage has a long history: Digital models in this field are evolving from an aesthetic simulation of reality, or, rather, a representation of the visual perception, to a more complex model: an information aggregation core. The investigation presents a research panel oriented to enhance the digital survey products - point clouds, meshes, 3D models -to be used as an intelligent visual archive assigning structured knowledge contents to artefacts’ geometry. The implemented case regards the Temple of Venus and Rome. Research, in progress, has been developed by the following steps: ) Subdividing the artefact geometry into subregions; 2) Developing the consolidation ontology for a few restoration classes; 3) Assigning (manually) to each artefact subcomponent, namely a mesh sub-region, a “smart label” including a link to its consolidation ontology instance. The aim is to combine the potential of VR visualization with ontology reasoning systems

Bridging Cultural Heritage Ontologies in VR Environment. A framework for querying and reasoning on the Temple of Venus and Rome restoration and documentation

VR applied to Architectural and Archaeological Heritage has a long history: Digital models in this field are evolving from an aesthetic simulation of reality, or, rather, a representation of the visual perception, to a more complex model: an information aggregation core. The investigation presents a research panel oriented to enhance the digital survey products - point clouds, meshes, 3D models -to be used as an intelligent visual archive assigning structured knowledge contents to artefacts’ geometry. The implemented case regards the Temple of Venus and Rome. Research, in progress, has been developed by the following steps: ) Subdividing the artefact geometry into subregions; 2) Developing the consolidation ontology for a few restoration classes; 3) Assigning (manually) to each artefact subcomponent, namely a mesh sub-region, a “smart label” including a link to its consolidation ontology instance. The aim is to combine the potential of VR visualization with ontology reasoning systems

Urban Digital Twins for Smart Cities and Citizens:The Case Study of Herrenberg, Germany

Cities are complex systems connected to economic, ecological, and demographic conditions and change. They are also characterized by diverging perceptions and interests of citizens and stakeholders. Thus, in the arena of urban planning, we are in need of approaches that are able to cope not only with urban complexity but also allow for participatory and collaborative processes to empower citizens. This to create democratic cities. Connected to the field of smart cities and citizens, we present in this paper, the prototype of an urban digital twin for the 30,000-people town of Herrenberg in Germany. Urban digital twins are sophisticated data models allowing for collaborative processes. The herein presented prototype comprises (1) a 3D model of the built environment, (2) a street network model using the theory and method of space syntax, (3) an urban mobility simulation, (4) a wind flow simulation, and (5) a number of empirical quantitative and qualitative data using volunteered geographic information (VGI). In addition, the urban digital twin was implemented in a visualization platform for virtual reality and was presented to the general public during diverse public participatory processes, as well as in the framework of the "Morgenstadt Werkstatt" (Tomorrow's Cities Workshop). The results of a survey indicated that this method and technology could significantly aid in participatory and collaborative processes. Further understanding of how urban digital twins support urban planners, urban designers, and the general public as a collaboration and communication tool and for decision support allows us to be more intentional when creating smart cities and sustainable cities with the help of digital twins. We conclude the paper with a discussion of the presented results and further research directions

CAVE 3D: Software Extensions for Scientific Visualization of Large-scale Models

AbstractNumerical analysis of large-scale and multidisciplinary problems on high-performance computer systems is one of the main computational challenges of the 21st century. The amount of data processed in complex systems analyses approaches peta- and exascale. The technical possibility for real-time visualization, post-processing and analysis of large-scale models is extremely important for carrying out comprehensive numerical studies. Powerful visualization is going to play an important role in the future of large-scale models. In this paper, we describe several software extensions aimed to improve visualization performance for large-scale models and developed by our team for 3D virtual environment systems such as CAVEs and Powerwalls. These extensions include an algorithm for real-time generation of isosurfaces on large meshes and a visualization system designed for massively parallel computing environment. Besides, we describe an augmented reality system developed by the part of our team in Stuttgart

Application Steering in a Collaborative Environment

In this showcase we will present live running simulations which are integrated into the Access Grid in a variety of different ways. An example of this is the use of vncto distribute a desktop on which the simulation is being displayed. Another example is the redirection of the visualization into vic to make 3D animations available over the Access Grid. Other examples that will be explored are the use of SGI’s OpenGL VizServer to direct the output of a graphics supercomputer located on the Grid to the AG locations. We will also utilize the ability of the next generation AG software to directly link with visualization toolkits such as vtk, AVS/Express, or COVISE as an integrated part of the Virtual Venue as this functionality has developed by the time of the SC2003 demonstrations. We also demonstrate steering in a collaborative setting using a steering service which is fully compliant with OGSI and with the proposed OGSA architecture. This can be integrated with current Grid middleware (e.g. GT2 and UNICORE) using a specially developed Perl hosting environment, OGSI:Lite

Radfahren auf realen und virtuellen Flächen – Das NRVP-Projekt Cape Reviso

Das durch den Nationalen Radverkehrsplan (NRVP) vom Bundesministerium für Verkehr und digitaler Infrastruktur (BMVI) geförderte Verbundprojekt Cape Reviso (Cyclist And PEdestrians on REal and VIrtual Shared rOads) befasst sich mit der Problematik, welche möglichen Konflikte Fußgängerinnen, Fußgänger, Radfahrerinnen und Radfahrer im täglichen Verkehr ausgesetzt sind. Ziel ist es, Optimierungsstrategien für Führungsformen und Knotenpunkte durch Erfassung des gegenwärtigen Zustandes und Simulationen von Variationen in Living Labs zu entwickeln. Der Ansatz verfolgt Methoden im realen und virtuellen Raum. Die aus den Erkenntnissen entwickelten Werkzeuge und Empfehlungen für eine moderne Stadt- und Verkehrsplanung sollen helfen, durch gute Infrastruktur die Attraktivität des Zu-Fuß-Gehens und Radfahrens zu steigern, speziell vor dem Fokus der Reduktion von Stress und Konflikten. Oftmals bilden diese eben ein persistierendes Hemmnis in der Gruppe der unentschlossenen Radfahrerinnen, Radfahrer, Fußgängerinnen und Fußgänger. In der Realität bleiben gefährliche und Stress auslösende Knotenpunkte und Führungsformen oft unerkannt, da die Unfallzahlen in einem Erhebungsgebiet zu gering sind. Die zu entwickelnden Werkzeuge zielen daher darauf ab, Situationen und Orte zu erfassen und zu messen, in denen Radfahrende und Zu-Fuß-Gehende sich subjektiv unsicher fühlen (Stress empfinden) oder es zu gefährlichen Situationen (Beinahe-Unfällen) kommt. Zielgruppe des Projektes sind nicht ausschließlich Stadt- und Verkehrsplanerinnen sowie Stadt- und Verkehrsplaner. Die entwickelnden Werkzeuge sind quelloffen und verhältnismäßig günstig. Sie können so nicht nur von Kommunen für die Planung, sondern auch von Initiativen und Verbänden eingesetzt werden, um sich für sichere Verkehrsbedingungen einzusetzen. Um breite Zielgruppen mit den Projektergebnissen anzusprechen, werden die entwickelten Werkzeuge direkt angewendet und aus dieser Anwendung allgemeingültige Empfehlungen abgeleitet. Beispielhaft werden in diesem Beitrag erste Ergebnisse aus der freiwilligen Messkampagne mit dem OpenBikeSensor (OBS) in Stuttgart sowie erste Analysen des Straßennetzwerkes mit „Space Syntax“ vorgestellt