Showing papers in "SCIRES-IT : SCIentific RESearch and Information Technology in 2018"

A digital reconstruction procedure from laser scanner survey to 3D printing: the theoretical model of the Arch of Trajan (Ancona)

Abstract: In recent years, the technologies for creating reality-based 3D models were enhanced and propagated in a large number of applications and research fields. This great evolution is due to the fact that these technologies are very useful, or rather ideal, to preserve, disseminate and restore cultural heritage, thanks to digitization and the realization of digital copies based on additive printing. In particular, 3D printing and virtual reality have determined the increase of a new field for data survey: the museum fruition. Therefore, they are becoming increasingly important. The aim of this article is to show the connection and the relationship between the development of the latest technologies and the cultural heritage: a digital reconstruction procedure from laser scanning survey to 3D printing of theoretical model, realized with a virtual reconstruction reality-based.

An Aggregation Framework for Digital Humanities Infrastructures: The PARTHENOS Experience

Abstract: Digital Humanities Infrastructures (DHIs) are research infrastructures supporting researchers in the field of humanities by providing ICT tools and facilities for performing their studies and investigation activities. A DHI typically serves either researchers of one specific sector of humanities (e.g. history, archaeology) or focused research groups working on specific research topics (e.g. studies on the holocaust, on a specific manuscript), with little or no re-use of tools, services and data that could be shared and successfully adopted to answer research questions of different research disciplines. This fragmentation often represents a barrier to inter-disciplinary research collaborations. We present a technical framework for the federation of DHIs where tools, data, services, and knowledge available from each DHI are shared in an integrated environment where researchers can collaborate on specific research topics by creating customized Virtual Research Environments.

A proposal for a new standard quantification of damages of cultural heritages, based on 3D scanning

Abstract: In the field of Architectural Restoration, conservation is a fundamental matter to ensure the durability of a built heritage, with historical and artistic values. The process of Conservation consists in the planning of series of interventions, preceded by an accurate phase of investigation about all the main aspects characterizing the artefact. Therefore, it is necessary to perform a preliminary assessment of the general conditions and, eventually, to appraise the presence of pathologies, according to the recommendations contained in the International and European Standards. However, the limit of the major existing legislations is the lack of quantitative criteria to identify and classify alterations. This work aims to make a proposal for an integration of the existing standards, with the identification of meaningful parameters in correspondence of damages. The example application of the study is conducted on Palazzo Palmieri (Monopoli – Italy), through the analysis of photogrammetric 3D models.

A virtual reconfiguration of two destroyed neighborhoods in the Old Town of Palermo

Abstract: The proposed contribution deals with the topic of virtual three-dimensional reconstructions on an urban scale. The choice was oriented on significant samples of city portions that over the centuries have undergone substantial transformations or distortions: the aim is to reconstruct their history backwards, starting from the current survey and using the tools of virtual representation to reconfigure the forms of the past and tell their events. From here comes the idea to create, for pieces, a hypertextual study of the urban image of Palermo: the theme of the transformation of the city, of change and of complexity, opens up differentiated research paths. The hypertext choice was almost obvious: in the description of the city and its use the different references (texts, maps, photos, three-dimensional models) can be used in multiple and dynamic aggregations. The report develops in a diachronic manner, using the overlapping of several information layers to set some remarkable dates on which to think about the urban image therein expressed.

Contribution of parametric modeling in the interpretation of deformations and displacements of wooden trusses

Abstract: The analysis of historical timber roofs is a topic widely dealt with in literature both in the disciplinary field of “theory of construction” and “construction technologies”, and in that of architectural technology and restoration. The specialist literature, however, has often simplified the constructive conception and evolution of these artifacts that, even when they stand still to date, show the signs of a long life, often hidden and little-known, even with regard to frequent changes over time. This paper aims to indicate a new methodological approach, based on generative algorithms, to attempt a more in-depth and transversal understanding of the behavior of these wooden structures, focusing on geometric surveying and constructive analysis. The developed method accelerates modeling procedures and it brings on new tools for analyzing these structural systems surveyed through Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) devices.

A project for the exploration of cultural heritage in a European area of excellence: The Baroque Circuit of Val di Noto.

Abstract: South-Eastern Sicily offers a high concentration of Cultural Heritage to be promoted with innovative strategies of integration of all the resources present in the territory. Each work of art has its own artistic value, meaningful stories to communicate and material and immaterial engaging thematic itineraries. “Stories” able to reveal the wonder of the places and arouse curiosity about real and virtual journeys with itineraries connecting highly attractive centers to less important ones, as they are generally considered, outside the common tourist flows. The “NEPTIS” project has established a synergy between different scientific competences: from history of architecture to survey, from modeling to information technology in order to create and experiment a system software such as Conceptouring able to support the design and construction of immersive interactive experiences for cultural sustainable tourism in an area of excellence of European Baroque.

Integrated methodologies in the study of pottery function

Abstract: The paper describes the application of integrated methodologies for the reconstruction of functional aspects of archaeological pottery, through spatial analysis of ceramic functional categories by GIS tools and chemical analysis of organic residues by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The research focused on the pottery assemblages from the archaic building (6 th century BC) identified in the Messapian settlement of Castello di Alceste (San Vito dei Normanni, Apulia, Italy). The application of integrated approaches contributed to better understand the role played by ceramics and their content in different functional areas.

The Gallery of the Castromediano’s Castle. Three-dimensional reconstruction and virtual representation

Abstract: The Ducal Castle Castromediano–Limburg was built around the sixteenth century in the historic centre of Cavallino, a town renowned for its excellence in the arts and culture, located in Salento south of Lecce (Italy). The Castle, also known as Ducal Palace, was the home of the illustrious Duke Sigismondo Castromediano, a man of great culture, archaeologist, writer and indomitable patriot of the Italian Risorgimento. The Gallery, which is one of the most important part of the castle, is a magnificent reception hall richly decorated and adorned by numerous sculptures. Today, the magnificent Gallery shows the signs of aging and improper use. Therefore, a restoration of the spaces has already been planned. The Gallery of Castromediano’s Castle, classified as heritage of significant cultural and artistic importance, was the subject of a digital acquisition project, a three-dimensional reconstruction and virtual representation performed by CEIT (Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Technology Innovation for the Cultural and environmental Heritage and Biomedicine). The high-resolution 3D digital acquisition was performed using a time-of-flight 3D laser scanner and a campaign of photographic shooting of the frescoed surfaces. A 3D model, at two different levels of detail (LoD), was created, in full color, along with the animation of the model according to a predefined path that allows the user to enjoy, by various media, a virtual tour of the Gallery in a guided, detailed, complete and full-immersive way. The high-resolution 3D model will be a useful tool for the future conservation and restoration of the Gallery. It can be consulted and\or updated remotely for in-depth studies of historical and artistic nature.

Low cost survey and heritage value

Abstract: In the last two decades, the approach to surveying, profoundly modified by massive acquisition methodologies, has strongly influenced the construction of 3D models, which come closer and closer to reality. Various operations performed on numerical models prove to be necessary for defining geometric or mathematical models, which become ever more congruent with architectonic and archaeological artifacts. Today models are the point of departure for all the activities aimed at a more profound knowledge of the object. Different fields of operations connected with Cultural Heritage - from cataloguing to preservation, from designing to restoration and valorization - begin to present the enormous potentialities inherent in models obtained through 3D surveys. In some cases to observe artifacts in various scales and from different viewpoints, it is such to explore such models than the work itself. Moreover, they make it possible to design and prepare reconstruction, reinforcement and restoration operations directly in three dimensions as well as to document different transformations the artifacts underwent in the course of centuries. Models prove to be an indispensable element not only at the stage of preparation, preservation and valorization but also at that of prevention, which at present seems to be the most efficient and far-sighted means for ensuring the stability and security of architectonic and urban heritage.

Enhancing the Experience of the Western Xia Imperial Tombs Heritage Site (PRC, Ningxia) through Animated Installations

Abstract: In 2015, the government of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of the Peoples’ Republic of China decided to develop a large-scale museum in Yinchuan to serve the region using the history of both the Tangut people (since the seventh century CE) and Western Xia dynasty (1038–1227) as themes. The School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU-ADM) was asked to propose the concept design for an underground tunnel linking the museum to the archaeological site of the Western Xia Imperial Tombs. The ADM-NTU research team, composed by the authors of this paper, proposed to use the tunnel to display animated installations able to both link and enhance the cultural heritage experience of the museum and the archaeological site. This paper presents the overall process of the concept design and its results.

Environmental technologies to safeguard coastal heritage

Abstract: In recent years, an increasing awareness of the importance of the coastal heritage has been raised. Coastal zones represent the interface between land and sea, and are characterized by ecosystems, natural resources, historical urban centres and traditions. During the last decades, both human activities conducted in coastal areas and the occurrence of natural hazards have increased their vulnerability. Thus, coastal management plans have been developed, focusing on the safeguard and enhancement of cultural and environmental heritage of these areas. For this purpose, several technologies have been proposed. The present paper discusses on the main critical issues affecting coastal heritage, paying attention to the coast of the Apulian region, in southern Italy. The most widely used technologies and the last frontiers to safeguard coastal areas are presented and some recent results in their application are shown.

Representation as space for experimentation and architectural knowledge

Abstract: New surveys on the convent of St. Francis of Paola (Paola-Cosenza) confirm that for architectural knowledge, neither accurate acquisitions nor realistic photographic renderings are sufficient. Furthermore, they confirm that in surveying, both attention and images which are gradually defined through figurative rendering and that allow for analysis of the architecture and its components in a coherent field of study have greater value.

An international online competition to stimulate student’s interest on ecological issues

Abstract: A serious game on ecological matter and Earth sciences is one of the products of ENVRIplus project. ENVRIplus is a cluster of Research Infrastructures (RIs) for Environmental and Earth System sciences aiming at improving Earth observation monitoring systems and strategies. Here we present the ongoing activities of the training action, which has a serious game and a competition as main final products. The serious game, named Research Game, is direct to students of intermediate and high schools. Students, acting as researchers, have to apply the scientific experimental method in a practical work about topics of Ecology and Earth Sciences, and finally will play the serious game during a final European competition.

Topographic analysis and photo interpretation of historical and recent aerial images. A case study: the ancient civo settlement (Taviano - Le)

Abstract: This study presents the results of topographic research on the Salento territory with a particular focus on a settlement of Civo (Taviano - Le) through the use of the integrated aerial photographical study. The metodology used derives from the integration of survey data with analysis foto documentation from different periods (historical and recent aerial photos, vertical and oblique) with the aim of giving an explanation for historical archeological issues and instance of tutelage. The preliminary results show a complex situation that may be better understood with systematic and extensive technological investigations.

PALLADIOlibrary – A growing virtualization project to understand Andrea Palladio’s works

Abstract: In this paper we introduced the topic of virtualization of Information System related to Architectural Heritage in the age of Information Technology. The case of PALLADIOLibrary and its interface Andrea Palladio - 3D geodatabase , a comprehensive Information System about the architect Andrea Palladio and his work is introduced. The new system, gathering the legacy of a systematic and clearly defined original system based on an evident and effective virtualization process, it allows to provide support to the problems faced, clarifying the limits, characters, potential and advantages.

Application of satellite images for detection of illegal excavation in Puglia (Italy)

Abstract: The research was conducted on the whole region of Puglia (South of Italy), with particular attention to areas of Tavoliere - Foggia (Arpi, Salapia, Siponto). The purpose is to provide an overview on the phenomenon of illegal excavations in Apulia through consultation, photo-interpretation, georeferencing systematic aerial photographs, historical and recent, and satellite images. In particular, the systematic work of photo-interpretation was carried out on strips of historical aerial photo, orthophotos and finally on satellite images through open source programs such as Google Earth, Bing Maps, Flash Earth.

Editorial. Making the point on SCIRES-IT in 2018

Abstract: SCIRES-IT- SCIentific RESearch and Information Technology is an eco-sustainable Open Access Journal providing an international forum for the exchange and sharing of know-how in the areas of Digitalization and Multimedia Technologies and Information & Communication Technology in support of Cultural and environmental Heritage documentation, preservation and fruition It combines the main principles of the Berlin Declaration on Open Access with the aims of the International Convention on Biological Diversity Founded in 2011 and directed mainly and admirably by women, SCIRES-IT has achieved, in a few years, very high scientific levels and degrees of openness, complying with Best Practice and high publishing standards

Must See Advisor for Kyoto

Abstract: This article describes a multimedia interactive map developed as sample for the municipality of Kyoto, based on a single HTML page using AJAX, with a client-side control mechanism using jQuery components. The application supports better connections between resources and the places they refer to: the user could select a Point of Interest (PoI) through its multimedia contents using their previews (in a gallery or in a tile window) or their names reported in a list. PoIs—visualized on the map with multi-shape markers using a set of unambiguous colors—could be filtered through their categories and types, accessibility status and time line, thus improving the system usability.

Realtime tracking in projection mapping

Abstract: The projection of a moving image on the surfaces of objects and architectural works can now be viewed as a well-established communicative process within which techniques evolve, even if in essence their form and structure may be regarded as technologically stable. What project context will emerge if, instead of being static, the surfaces that are object of projection vary their form and position in three-dimensional space? This paper investigates the design context of video mapping through a short survey of a series of case studies in which the tracking of the movement of artefacts is recognized thanks to processes of computer vision that give rise to novel elements of interaction between people, objects and the space.