This paper shows a research experience interested in exploring the potential of XR systems for the use and dissemination of knowledge about the architectural Heritage and, in particular, about those areas that are currently inaccessible. Specifically, the methodological approach adopted employs AR as a user friendly tool that, through the involvement of the user in experiences implemented by multi-media content, allows to highlight unexplored aspects of the Heritage.The experimentation carried out involved part of the Insula Episcopalis of Naples, investigating the relationship between the Basilica of Santa Restituta and the archaeological area below. To this end, the instrumental surveys carried out to understand the relationships that exist between the different parts of the Insula, were of support for the construction of the communication project, constituting in fact the reference model on which the tracking of the scene and the anchoring of the different information was based.
The Rooms of Art. The Virtual Museum as an Anticipation of Reality
In this essay we propose a methodological approach for the realization of a virtual expositive space in which converge on one hand the results of a scientific research based on the study of author’s paintings whose contribution has embellished the Venetian territory, and on the other hand a strategy based on a credible interactive proposal for the users, for a creative fruition able to involve emotion-ally the observer and facilitating at the same time the learning.
Enhanced Interaction Experience for Holographic Visualization
Nowadays, holographic visualization pushes further the limits in exploring tri-dimensional digital con-tent. 3D models typically displayed through a computer screen now enter the real world as holograms. The Hologram Table allows users to visualize and manipulate huge 3D models as if they were in the space in front of them. Its use has already proved helpful for the virtual fruition and presentation of complex cultural heritage buildings and their design interventions, but it surely can do more. The work aims at exploring the possibility of expanding the capabilities of the Hologram Table interaction by developing a custom-designed experience to interact with 3D point cloud data coming from survey activity. The test case was the interesting building of the Santa Maria delle Grazie (Milan, Italy) basilica. Initial results are encouraging and show that the point model can be enriched with associated informa-tion and additional content (images and texts) available for holographic visualization.
Virtual Reality in Future Museums
The current global situation underlined the necessity of new accessibility standards in the field of cultural dissemination. Due to the limitations defined to contain the pandemic, the process of digitalization of art and knowledge increased its speed, exploiting practices and technologies which once were commonly used in specific sectors. In this climate of fervent developments, the use of Virtual Reality is growing as a medium to convey information, working on themes like immersivity, interactivity and simulation, and considering the previous experimentations in cinematography and videogames, to define experiences which connect sensory perception, engagement and learning. The faithful reconstruction of the Pavilion 2B of the ex Mattatoio di Testaccio in Rome aims to create a virtual environment to be used for digital exhibitions by students and visitors, working on innovative tools to convey art and culture.
Virtual Canova: a Digital Exhibition Across MANN and Hermitage Museums
The paper presents the results of a scientific collaboration between the Interdepartmental Research Center Urban/Eco of the University of Naples Federico II and the MANN (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, National Archaeological Museum of Naples).The research activity was aimed to the digitisation, design, and development of an AR/VR-powered narrative experience regarding Antonio Canova’s statuary that is currently exhibited at the MANN, loaned by the Hermitage in St. Petersburg: Cupid, Hebe, Dancer, Cupid and Psyche, the Genius of Death and The Three Graces.The project is motivated by the will to realize an active example of a digital museum, where cultural and formative experiences related to the fruition of architectural and artistic artifacts can be relived over time, even when manufacts are not physically and/or temporally located in the space where the experience takes place.
MareXperience. AI/AR for the Recognition and Enhancement of Reality
The MareXperience exhibition event was held in Procida on February 22 and 23, 2019, inside an ancient cave for the shelter of fishermen’s boats, 45 meters long and 8 meters wide. Inside, synchro-nized video projections and soundscapes were produced to create an immersive virtual environ-ment, whose contents were inspired by the signs and fluidity of underwater life. The digital forms were generated by a Swarm Intelligence algorithm, a tool generally used to create complex kinematic structures defined by a large number of parameters. Generative design is an expressive form aimed at artistic languages and representation of dynamic contexts, which here have been integrated into a narrative process, connecting aspects of the recording of the movement of bodies in water with the principles of data visualization.
An Immersive Room Between Scylla and Charybdis
Nello Scill’e Cariddi is an immersive and interactive room, in which the marine environment of the Strait of Messina was employed as first experimental scenarios to develop and test the technology. The scenarios reconstruct different settings relating to this unique ecosystem and represent the outcome of a long process of research and systematization of audio visuals available at the Horcynus Orca Foundation. The room, therefore, transforms collections of films, integrating them with the production of specific images, into virtual environments containing structured catalogues and into interactive installations for educational, playful, scientific, and popular use.
Perception of Driving Simulations: Can the Level of Detail of Virtual Scenarios Affect the Driver’s Behavior and Emotions?
Human factors studies are becoming more and more crucial in the automotive sector due to the need to evaluate the driver.s reactions to the increasingly sophisticated driving-assistant technologies. Driving simulators allow performing this kind of study in a controlled and safe environment. However, the driving simulation.s Level of Detail (LOD) can affect the users. perception of driving scenarios and make an experimental campaign.s outcomes unreliable. This paper proposes a study investigating possible correlations between driver.s behaviors and emotions, and simulated driving scenarios. Four scenarios replicating the same real area were built with four LODs from LOD0 (only the road is drawn) to LOD3 (all buildings with real textures for facades and roofs are inserted together with items visible from the road). 32 participants drove in all the four scenarios on a fixed-base driving simulator; their performance relating to the vehicle control (i.e., speed, trajectory, brake and gas pedal use, and steering wheel), their physiological data (electrodermal activity, and eye movements), their subjective perceptions, opinions and emotional state were measured. The results showed that drivers. behavior changes in a very complex way. Geometrical features of the route and environmental elements constrain much more driving behavior than LOD does Emotions are not affected by LODs. Generally, different signals showed different correlations with the LOD level, suggesting that future studies should consider their measures while modeling the virtual scenario. It is hypothesized that scenario realism is more relevant during leisurely environmental interaction, whilst simulator fidelity is crucial in task-driven interactions.
Combining on-site and off-site analysis: towards a new paradigm for cultural heritage surveys
In recent decades, cultural heritage survey practices have significantly evolved due to the increasing use of digitization tools providing quick and easy access to faithful copies of study objects. While these digital data have clear advantages, especially in terms of geometric characterization, they also introduce a paradigm shift by outsourcing ex situ most of the analysis activities. This break between real and virtual working environments now raises new issues, both in terms of data dispersion and knowledge correlation in multidisciplinary teams. Benefiting from the fields of information systems and augmented reality, we proposed an integrated approach allowing the fusion of geometric, visual and semantic features in a single platform. Today, this proof of concept leads to new perspectives for the production of semantically enriched digital data. In this paper, we intend to explore the different possibilities in terms of implementation and their benefits for cultural heritage survey.
Versioning Virtual Reconstruction Hypotheses: Revealing Counterfactual Trajectories of the Fallen Voussoirs of Notre-Dame de Paris using Reasoning and 2D/3D Visualization
Virtual reconstruction should move beyond merely presenting 3D models by documenting the scientific context and reasoning underlying the reconstruction process. For instance, the collapsed arch in the nave of Notre-Dame de Paris serves as a case study to make explicit the reconstruction argumentation encapsulated in relation to the spatial configuration of the arch and the voussoirs. The experiment is twofold: (1) setting up of the 3D dataset where the hypotheses are modeled as versions using logic programming, and (2) evaluating the scientific narrative of reconstruction through both a custom 2D-3D visualization and competency questions on the enriched 3D data. Formalization, reasoning, and visualization are combined to explore the nonlinear scientific hypotheses and narrative of the reconstruction. The results explicitly show both the factual information on the physical and digital objects, as well as the counterfactual propositions allowing the reasoning at play in the reconstruction. The hypotheses are visualized as counterfactual trajectories creating an open dynamic visualization that makes possible the spatialized querying of conflicting interpretations and embedded memory in place.