F. Lamolda

Bio: F. Lamolda is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Information system & Artifact (software development). The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 8 citations.

Using a Cultural Heritage Information System for the documentation of the restoration process

Abstract: Conventional information systems are frequently used to document Cultural Heritage sites. These systems are adequate for some specific purposes as they can store and retrieve a large amount of heterogeneous documents. Nevertheless, this is not enough for research and conservation purposes; researchers need to be able to find out relations between data. These relations are mostly spatial, and can be established by meaning of a 3D representation of the artifact. In order to achieve this, a new kind of information system is proposed, for which the 3D representation of the object is used as a blackboard, where all the data is represented. This paper describes the use of CHISel, a documentation tool that is designed as a GIS-like software for 3D cultural heritage, implementing the concept of a Cultural Heritage Information System (CHIS), and its application to document and analyze the restoration process of sculptures.

Mobile LiDAR System: New Possibilities for the Documentation and Dissemination of Large Cultural Heritage Sites

Abstract: Mobile LiDAR System is an emerging technology that combines multiple sensors. Active sensors, together with Inertial and Global Navigation System, are synchronized on a mobile platform to produce an accurate and precise geospatial 3D point cloud. They allow obtaining a large amount of georeferenced 3D information in a fast and efficient way, which can be used in several applications such as the 3D recording and reconstruction of complex urban areas and/or landscapes. In this study the Mobile LiDAR System is applied in the field of Cultural Heritage aiming to evaluate its performance with the purpose to document, divulgate, or to develop an architectural analysis. This study was focused on the Medieval Wall of Avila (Spain) and, specifically, the performed accuracy tests were applied in the “Alcazar” gate (National Monument from 1884). The Mobile LiDAR System is then compared to the most commonly employed active sensors (Terrestrial Laser Scanner) for large Cultural Heritage sites in regard to time, accuracy and resolution of the point cloud. The discrepancies between both technologies are established comparing directly the 3D point clouds generated, highlighting the errors affecting the architectural structures. Consequently, and based on a detailed geometrical analysis, an optimization methodology is proposed, establishing a segmented and classified cluster for the structures. Furthermore, three main clusters are settled, according to the curvature: (i) planar or low curvature; (ii) cylindrical, mild transitions and medium curvature; and (iii) the abrupt transitions of high curvature. The obtained 3D point clouds in each cluster are analyzed and optimized, considering the reference spatial sampling, according to a confidence interval and the feature curvature. The presented results suggest that Mobile LiDAR System is an optimal approach, allowing a high-speed data acquisition and providing an adequate accuracy for large Cultural Heritage sites.

Suitability of Automatic Photogrammetric Reconstruction Configurations for Small Archaeological Remains

Abstract: Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction is a useful technique for the documentation, characterization, and evaluation of small archeological objects. In this research, a comparison among different photogrammetric setups that use different lenses (macro and standard zoom) and dense point cloud generation calibration processes for real specific objects of archaeological interest with different textures, geometries, and materials is raised using an automated data collection. The data acquisition protocol is carried out from a platform with control points referenced with a metrology absolute arm to accurately define a common spatial reference system. The photogrammetric reconstruction is performed considering a camera pre-calibration as well as a self-calibration. The latter is common for most data acquisition situations in archaeology. The results for the different lenses and calibration processes are compared based on a robust statistical analysis, which entails the estimation of both standard Gaussian and non-parametric estimators, to assess the accuracy potential of different configurations. As a result, 95% of the reconstructed points show geometric discrepancies lower than 0.85 mm for the most unfavorable case and less than 0.35 mm for the other cases.

Hydria: An Online Data Lake for Multi-Faceted Analytics in the Cultural Heritage Domain

Abstract: Advancements in cultural informatics have significantly influenced the way we perceive, analyze, communicate and understand culture. New data sources, such as social media, digitized cultural content, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, have allowed us to enrich and customize the cultural experience, but at the same time have created an avalanche of new data that needs to be stored and appropriately managed in order to be of value. Although data management plays a central role in driving forward the cultural heritage domain, the solutions applied so far are fragmented, physically distributed, require specialized IT knowledge to deploy, and entail significant IT experience to operate even for trivial tasks. In this work, we present Hydria, an online data lake that allows users without any IT background to harvest, store, organize, analyze and share heterogeneous, multi-faceted cultural heritage data. Hydria provides a zero-administration, zero-cost, integrated framework that enables researchers, museum curators and other stakeholders within the cultural heritage domain to easily (i) deploy data acquisition services (like social media scrapers, focused web crawlers, dataset imports, questionnaire forms), (ii) design and manage versatile customizable data stores, (iii) share whole datasets or horizontal/vertical data shards with other stakeholders, (iv) search, filter and analyze data via an expressive yet simple-to-use graphical query engine and visualization tools, and (v) perform user management and access control operations on the stored data. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first solution in the literature that focuses on collecting, managing, analyzing, and sharing diverse, multi-faceted data in the cultural heritage domain and targets users without an IT background.

ARTworks: An Augmented Reality Interface as an Aid for Restoration Professionals

Abstract: Augmented Reality AR has proven to provide effective tools to assist the human work in a wide range of sectors. Many examples can be found in literature of innovative AR tools used in medicine, industry and the military fields. Recently AR has been successfully applied also to cultural heritage, mainly for communication and educational purposes. Nevertheless, we argue that also the activity of professional operators dealing with cultural heritage, such as conservators and restorers, can benefit from the use of AR-systems. The restoration process commonly builds on the analysis and study of prior interventions and, very often, on the results of pre-operative diagnoses performed on the artwork. All the information gathered during these stages is necessary during the restoration and, using AR, it can be directly overlaid on top of the artwork avoiding the necessity of a continuous visual switch between the artwork and the documentation. Moreover, through an AR-system, new digital information can be produced directly while working, fostering also new forms of documentation. We hereby present ARTworks, an AR-system intended to assist the restorer both during the operating phases, providing contextualized information, and during documentation, allowing the insertion of new registered digital information. The system, composed by a mechanical interface and an Android tablet, has been purposely designed taking into account the particular application field of restoration.