With the advent of artificial intelligence and natural user interfaces, the need for multimedia material that can be semantically interpreted in real time becomes critical. In the field of 3D architectural survey, a significant amount of research has been conducted to allow domain experts represent semantic data while keeping spatial references. Such data becomes valuable for natural user interfaces designed to let non-expert users obtain information about architectural heritage. In this paper, we present the architectural data collection and annotation procedure adopted in the Cultural Heritage Orienting Multimodal Experiences (CHROME) project. This procedure aims at providing conversational agents with fast access to fine-detailed semantic data linked to the available 3D models. We will discuss how this will make it possible to support multimodal user interaction and generate cultural heritage presentations.
Segmentation protocols in the digital twins of monumental heritage: a methodological development
The paper shows an advancement of the research that the authors have been carrying out in recent years in semantic structuring of digital architectural representations field, with a focus on the issue of uncertainty of annotations. The studies carried out in this regard have shown how the domain experts specialization determines a vision and interpretation of the same architectural object that we could define “categorized”. The interest was, then, in verifying which categories of experts have a greater degree of agreement in classifying and segmenting architectural elements, to highlight which specializations contribute the most in enriching the semantic reasoning about such forms. Aiming to broaden this reasoning, the research was deepened with annotation sessions concerning architecture examples that didn’t correspond to the classical orders rule but included wider fields of historical heritage (from sacred to fortified architecture). The aim is to verify whether the uncertainty of annotation is actually ascribable to a specific segment of the historical heritage, for example, the classical world, or whether the question is broader and as such in needs deeper thinking.
The Role of the Graphic Element in the Context of Playful Games for Cultural Heritage
This paper aims to investigate the conditioning that the use of playful games requires the role of graphic element for disseminating and promoting the Cultural Heritage. Within the CHROME project, which has, among the various objectives, the definition of an innovative strategy to promote the three Charterhouses of Campania, it comes up with the idea to plan a playful game placed in one of the three monasteries. Its purpose is to provide a first knowledge, both in relation to the spatiality of a Carthusian monastery and to the life of a monk of the Order, exploiting the playful dimension of the games. Since that the proposed location for the game is a monastic complex whose modeling is gained by range-based and image-based survey processes, the project shows the definition of a methodology to generate digital three-dimensional models, whose geometric genesis is at the same time both topologically coherent and enjoyable on the selected technology platform. Once obtained the scene in which the narration develops, it must qualify as a visual device able to activate the sensory involvement, the share and the exploration. For this reason, some expedients (illumination techniques, framing, distortions, sonorous scenes) have been studied to stimulate the player and to communicate cognitive messages related to the game space using the principle “show, don’t tell”.
How Do Nature-Based Solutions’ Color Tones Influence People’s Emotional Reaction? An Assessment via Virtual and Augmented Reality in a Participatory Process
Simulations of urban transformations are an effective tool for engaging citizens and enhancing their understanding of urban design outcomes. Citizens’ involvement can positively contribute to foster resilience for mitigating the impact of climate change. Successful integration of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) into the urban fabric enables both the mitigation of climate hazards and positive reactions of citizens. This paper presents two case studies in a southern district of Milan (Italy), investigating the emotional reaction of citizens to existing urban greenery and designed NBS. During the events, the participants explored in Virtual Reality (VR) (n = 48) and Augmented Reality (AR) (n = 63) (i) the district in its current condition and (ii) the design project of a future transformation including NBS. The environmental exploration and the data collection took place through the exp-EIA© method, integrated into the mobile app City Sense. The correlations between the color features of the viewed landscape and the emotional reaction of participants showed that weighted saturation of green and lime colors reduced the unpleasantness both in VR and AR, while the lime pixel area (%) reduced the unpleasantness only in VR. No effects were observed on the Arousal and Sleepiness factors. The effects show high reliability between VR and AR for some of the variables. Implications of the method and the benefits for urban simulation and participatory processes are discussed.
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.
Visual post-occupancy evaluation of a restorative garden using virtual reality photography: Restoration, emotions, and behavior in older and younger people
Natural environments have a restorative effect from mental/attentional fatigue, prevent stress, and help to revitalize psychological and physical resources. These benefits are crucial for promoting active aging, which is particularly relevant given the phenomenon of population aging in recent decades. To be considered restorative, green spaces have to meet specific requirements in ecological and psychological terms that can be assessed through Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE), a multimethod approach commonly used by environmental psychologists and landscape architects after construction to evaluate the design outcomes from the users’ perspective. Generally, POEs consist of surveys and/or interviews accompanied by more or less structured observations of onsite users’ behavior. Despite this, various practical constraints can prevent physical access to the renovated area (e.g., weather conditions, time/resources limits, health issues, bureaucratic constraints). Exploiting digital tools for such an assessment can be a crucial support in such circumstances. The current study presents the visual POE of a restorative garden for older adults in Milan, Italy. We developed a web application, that includes the exp-EIA© patented method, which allows participants to virtually explore a visual simulation of the environment and provide their feedback. We identified 3 representative viewpoints in the redeveloped garden differing from each other for the functions and the design principles that inspired the transformation. For each point of view, we created 360° Virtual Reality photographs, that can be navigated by looking around, i.e., panning, from the standing point of each view. In connection to each virtual scene, a survey was conducted (N = 321). The focus was the psychological experience related to each viewpoint, assessed with two psychometric scales investigating the constructs of emotions (pleasure and arousal) and restoration (fascination, being away, coherence, scope, and environmental preference); such information is integrated with behavioral aspects, including the main activities prefigured by participants and their visual exploration of the VR photography. The results of the virtual exploration show that the garden is perceived as restorative, with a more intense effect in a spot purposely designed. The emotions experienced in the garden are positive and a mild level of arousal is observed. The behavioral dimension is characterized by predominantly contemplative activities and contact with nature. A cartographic representation of the psychological and behavioral data is developed, to support the maintenance of the garden.
Re-contextualizing the standing Sekhmet statues in the Temple of Ptah at Karnak through digital reconstruction and VR experience
Recent trends in the Digital Humanities – conceived as new modalities of collaborative, transdisciplinary and computational research and presentation – also strongly influence research approaches and presentation practices in museums. Indeed, ongoing projects in museums have considerably expanded digital access to data and information, documentation and visualization of ancient ruins and objects. In addition, 3D modelling and eXtended Reality opened up new avenues of interacting with a wider public through digital reconstructions that allow both objects and sites to be presented through visual narratives based on multidisciplinary scholarly research. The article illustrates the use of 3D digital reconstruction and virtual reality to re-contextualise standing statues of Sekhmet in the Temple of Ptah at Karnak, where they were found in 1818. Today, they are on display at Museo Egizio, Turin. The theoretical framework of the research and the operational workflow – based on the study of the available archaeological, textual, and pictorial data – is presented here.
Scalable AR for Bim: An Application to Telecommunication Network Sites
A growing number of research works, experiments and applications is investigating the potential at the intersection of augmented reality (AR) and the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. Project management, project communication, collaborative design, maintenance and construction progress documentation, construction site safety, and training are some of the cases that can benefit from blending real and virtual views through mobile devices. In recent years, research also highlighted how mixed reality and building information modeling (BIM) could cooperate to provide effective communication between multiple agents and closer interaction between digital information and the building site. Nevertheless, consolidated applications in these fields are still limited, especially when compared to other areas of AR adoption. This paper presents the development of an AR-based mobile app for exploring telecommunications tower sites and interacting with a related BIM database. The project aims to provide easy-to-use tools to maintain both the physical assets and an up-to-date model. We discuss critical issues in developing a scalable and interoperable application, supporting the feasibility study of similar solutions in the AEC sector.
Reconstructive 3D Modelling and Interactive Visualization for Accessibility of Piffetti’s Library in the Villa della Regina Museum (Turin)
This research is realised in the framework of a project recently funded as part of the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) in the Accessibility sector. The working team has been established in the framework of the scientific agreement between the Museum of Villa della Regina in Turin, the Department of Architecture and Design at Politecnico di Torino, and the Department of History, Drawing and Restoration of Architecture at Sapienza Università di Roma, and includes knowledge from art history, digital surveying, 3D modelling, and digital solutions for cultural heritage. The research involves the reconstructive 3D modelling of Piffetti’s Library, once placed in the cabinet toward midnight and west inside the Villa della Regina and today in the Palazzo del Quirinale, and its interactive visualisation through augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) aimed at accessibility.
3D Heritage Data Fruition and Management. Point Cloud Processing for Thematic Interpretation
Technologies and digital tools such as laser scanning and photogrammetry are nowadays widely used in the field of architectural heritage survey, being able of producing 3D models characterized by high metric and morphological accuracy. These databases are becoming essential also for the development of more effective interventions on heritage buildings. Despite the advancement of increasingly automated analytical procedures, the management and analysis of point cloud models can still be quite time-consuming and complex, depending on specific assessments to be carried out. In the direction of optimizing these processing steps, several research is being carried out by applying Artificial Intelligence processes to make predictions based on sample data. The aim of the paper is to analyse point clouds processing focusing on geometric and radiometric features for diagnostic analysis. A specific focus aims at analysing possible in-depth uses of the intensity value as a benchmark for historical surfaces assessment, toward an optimized models’ interpretation and classification of the 3D data points, integrating data and information from different sensors. Point clouds under analysis have been carried out by different acquisition techniques; this provides an interesting opportunity to compare the results in terms of intensity value produced by different sensors. The paper will analyse the State of the Art, also illustrating a set of outcomes obtained by the authors, deepening two specific case studies, in order to outline not only the main background and shortcomings in managing complex database, but also possible innovations pointing out new research questions.