Mixed Reality technologies provide innovative solutions for cultural heritage documentation and education, blending real and virtual environments to enhance user engagement and learning experiences. Within the framework of the ARTEST project, an Erasmus+ Capacity Building initiative, this study explores the potential of MR for digital documentation and interactive teaching. The research focuses on integrating advanced digital survey techniques, including photogrammetry and laser scanning, to create 3D models of cultural artifacts. These models are further enriched with interactive content through the Hevolus portal, allowing exploration via Microsoft HoloLens in a Hybrid Learning Space. The study investigates how these technologies facilitate cultural exchange between Italy and Mongolia by developing immersive educational tools. The methodological framework emphasizes the integration of STEM approaches within humanities education, fostering a bridge between technological advancements and traditional cultural studies. The outcomes highlight the effectiveness of MR in providing students with interactive learning environments that promote deeper cultural understanding. By leveraging MR applications, this study contributes to the development of sustainable digital education models, enhancing the accessibility and preservation of cultural heritage.
AR for Understanding Architectural Drawings: Gustavo Tognetti’s Plates
Tools such as augmented reality and virtual reality are now available to anyone with a mobile device. These technologies have aroused considerable interest for their possible applications in education. The ability to visualise, through mixed reality, information directly superimposed on reality, augmenting and enriching it with notions, procedures and insights, offers an important channel of dissemination directly linked to the portions of reality to which this information refers. Among the innumerable fields of application is undoubtedly the study of historical heritage; heritage that is often characterised by limited accessibility, be it physical or cognitive. Often the understanding of such heritage must also be mediated by a preparatory background that is not always available. An emblematic example is architectural drawings, whose variety and complexity require specific training and culture for in-depth compression. The proposed study hypothesised a possible application of AR tools based on architectural drawings. Specifically, the heritage studied are 12 didactic plates drafted by architect Gustavo Tognetti at the end of the nineteenth century and addressed to students of Drawing courses at the University of Cagliari. The aim is to allow the students to visualise the three-dimensional models of the architectural elements depicted and described in the Tognetti’s plates, especially those relating to the architectural orders. A direct visualisation of the 3D reproduction of what is depicted two-dimensionally in the plates constitutes a rapid support to the understanding of such elements characterised by geometries that cannot always be immediately visualised mentally by students of Architecture in their early years.
Securing the Future: Cybersecurity Challenges and Approaches in Extended Reality and Interactive Experiences
Extended Reality (XR) and interactive experiences are revolutionizing training by bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. Unlike traditional methods, such as text-based manuals or passive video demonstrations, XR enables scenario-based simulations that allow users to engage with real-world challenges in a risk-free environment. This approach can enhance engagement, improve knowledge retention, and ensure that content can be adapted to evolving industry demands and emerging knowledge.
However, the widespread adoption of XR also raises critical cybersecurity concerns, particularly regarding data collection, management, and protection. The absence of established policies and procedures exacerbates these risks, increasing vulnerability to data breaches and cyberattacks. Without more stringent regulatory frameworks, XR platforms may inadvertently compromise security rather than strengthen it.
This paper examines the intersection between XR and cybersecurity, highlighting both the transformative potential of immersive learning experiences and the urgent need for robust data protection measures. Addressing these challenges is essential to ensuring that XR technologies can be safely and effectively integrated into training environments without undermining security principles.
Enhancing Parametric Design Education Through Rhinoceros/Grasshopper: Visual Perception Principles, Student Learning, and Future Integration with AI
The paper presents a pedagogical workflow integrating parametric design, computer vision, and AI text-to-image generation within architectural education. Using Rhinoceros/Grasshopper, Python-based computer vision tools, and Midjourney, the research proposes a methodology that teaches students to interpret architectural form through visual perception principles such as vectorial displacement, edge structures, surface discretization, and mass identification. The study combines parametric redrawing exercises with image segmentation, edge detection, and AI prompt design to help students critically understand generative AI processes rather than using them as opaque black-box systems. The workflow is intended to support conscious AI-assisted architectural design education by linking geometric reasoning, computational analysis, and generative image production.
Maker Architecture: Learning by Fabricating in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
The paper investigates the concept of “Maker Architecture” as an educational, research, and professional paradigm based on learning through fabrication within the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Through a comparative analysis of international case studies, the research explores how digital fabrication, parametric design, robotic manufacturing, Fab Labs, collaborative platforms, and maker culture are transforming architectural pedagogy and production. The study examines full-scale prototyping, computational workflows, CNC manufacturing, open-source collaboration, and interdisciplinary experimentation as core components of a new constructionist learning model. The paper ultimately defines the theoretical and methodological characteristics of Maker Architecture, including scientific experimentation, computational design, connectivity, collaboration, customization, circularity, and component-based construction.
Design and Modeling Atelier: Interaction of Physical and Virtual Models for Augmented Design Experiences
This paper presents an educational experiment aimed at integrating physical and digital modeling within architectural design processes through augmented reality workflows. The research investigates how the interaction between tangible maquettes, digital 3D models, and AR visualization can enhance design understanding, communication, and learning outcomes in an academic context.
The methodology is developed within a design atelier where students produce multi-scale physical models (1:500 and 1:200), digital models using NURBS-based software, and AR applications that overlay virtual content onto real maquettes. The workflow combines traditional fabrication techniques, digital modeling tools, and AR platforms such as Sketchfab, MyWebAR, and Vuforia, enabling the superimposition of additional information, animations, and design alternatives onto physical models. As shown in the workflow diagram (Fig. 2, p. 594), the process integrates sequential phases from urban maquette construction to AR visualization. Results demonstrate that hybrid real–virtual environments improve spatial comprehension, support iterative design processes, and foster a more effective communication of architectural concepts, while also highlighting technical challenges related to model alignment, tracking, and interoperability.
Experimentation of a Web Database for Augmented Reality Apps: The Case Study of Ruled Geometries
This paper presents the development and testing of a web-based database designed to support augmented reality applications for the visualization and study of complex geometries. The research focuses on ruled surfaces as a case study, proposing a digital platform that aggregates, classifies, and distributes 3D models enriched with geometric and descriptive information.
The methodology involves the creation of an open and scalable website that enables model visualization, download, and upload, as well as real-time integration with AR applications through APIs and structured data formats such as JSON. A taxonomy of ruled geometries is defined based on combinations of directrices, and a curated dataset of parametric 3D models is implemented to support both educational and experimental uses. The system allows multiple modes of interaction, including direct model download, dynamic linking to AR environments, and collaborative content generation. Results demonstrate that web-based geometric archives can enhance the accessibility, understanding, and dissemination of complex spatial forms, while supporting immersive learning and future integration with emerging environments such as the metaverse.
Semantic 3D Models and Virtual Environments for Narrating and Learning the Heritage’s Cultural Contents
This paper investigates how semantic 3D models, virtual reality, and augmented reality can improve the communication and learning of architectural heritage through a human-centered design approach. Rather than focusing only on technological performance, the study emphasizes the cognitive relationship between users and digital space, proposing immersive environments that adapt to perceptual and educational needs. The research develops a digital twin capable of revealing not only visible architectural forms but also hidden semantic contents such as geometry, decorative systems, historical transformations, and spatial hierarchies. Through photogrammetric surveys, panoramic imaging, and simplified three-dimensional modelling, the author creates an interactive VR tour in which lighting, animation, color, and guided narration progressively direct user attention toward relevant elements. The methodology is tested through staged virtual experiences that support orientation, memorization, and emotional engagement. The study demonstrates that carefully designed immersive environments can reduce cognitive barriers, expand museum accessibility, and transform digital representation into an effective pedagogical tool for heritage interpretation.
Drawing of the Space Between Tradition and New Media
The paper examines how digital media can support the interpretation and dissemination of historical scientific treatises through the case of Gaspard Monge’s La Géométrie descriptive. The research combines historical investigation, translation, redrawing of the original plates, three-dimensional modelling, and multimedia storytelling to transform the treatise into an interactive virtual learning environment. The 25 geometric plates are digitally reconstructed and converted into 3D models that verify the spatial logic of Monge’s descriptive geometry method, enabling users to better understand the relationship between two-dimensional projections and three-dimensional forms. A virtual tour composed of immersive rooms, panoramic environments, texts, audio, images, and videos allows visitors to navigate the treatise non-linearly through web-based interfaces. The project demonstrates how virtual museums and digital exhibitions can expand access to archival knowledge, enhance didactic learning, and revitalize historical technical literature without replacing direct consultation of original sources.
Exploring Lorenz Stöer’s Imaginary Space Using Augmented Reality: Geometria et Perspectiva
This paper investigates the sixteenth-century woodcuts contained in Lorenz Stöer’s Geometria et Perspectiva (1567) through digital reconstruction and Augmented Reality applications. The study analyzes the perspectival logic, geometric solids, and imaginary spatial compositions represented in the engravings, aiming to understand how Stöer constructed visual worlds that oscillate between representation and illustration. By combining historical research, geometric decoding, 3D modelling, and marker-based AR, the authors propose a multimedia exhibition where visitors can explore the hidden three-dimensional spaces behind the drawings and reconstruct possible viewing systems such as perspectographs. The AR experience enables users to compare represented, perceived, and imagined spaces, transforming historical prints into interactive learning environments. The research demonstrates how AR can enhance the interpretation and dissemination of intangible cultural heritage, making complex concepts of geometry, perception, and Renaissance visual culture accessible to wider audiences.