VAST07: The 8th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Intelligent Cultural Heritage

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3D-Powerpoint - Towards a Design Tool for Digital Exhibitions of Cultural Artifacts
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Havemann, Sven; Settgast, Volker; Lancelle, Marcel; Fellner, Dieter W.; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
We describe first steps towards a suite of tools for CH professionals to set up and run digital exhibitions of cultural 3D artifacts in museums. Both the authoring and the presentation views shall finally be as easy to use as, e.g., Microsoft Powerpoint. But instead of separated slides our tool uses pre-defined 3D scenes, called 'layouts', containing geometric objects acting as placeholders, called 'drop targets'. They can be replaced quite easily, in a drag-and-drop fashion, by digitized 3D models, and also by text and images, to customize and adapt a digital exhibition to the style of the real museum. Furthermore, the tool set contains easy-to-use tools for the rapid 3D modeling of simple geometry and for the alignment of given models to a common coordinate system. The technical innovation is that the tool set is not a monolithic application. Instead it is completely based on scripted designs, using the OpenSG scene graph engine and the GML scripting language. This makes it extremely flexible: Anybody capable of drag-and-drop can design 3D exhibitions. Anybody capable of GML scripting can create new designs. And finally, we claim that the presentation setup of our designs is 'grandparent-compliant', meaning that it permits to the public audience the detailed inspection of beautiful cultural 3D objects without getting lost or feeling uncomfortable.
ArcheoTUI - A Tangible User Interface for the Virtual Reassembly of Fractured Archeological Objects
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Reuter, Patrick; Riviere, Guillaume; Couture, Nadine; Sorraing, Nicolas; Espinasse, Loïc; Vergnieux, Robert; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
Cultural objects of archeological findings are often broken and fractured into a large amount of fragments, and the archeologists are confronted by 3D puzzles when reassembling the fractured objects. Scanning the fragments and reassembling the corresponding 3D objects virtually is an elegant (and sometimes the only) solution. An efficient user interaction for the complex task to orientate or position two 3D objects relative to each other is essential, eventually in addition to automatic matching techniques. In this paper, we present ArcheoTUI, a new tangible user interface for the efficient assembly of the 3D scanned fragments of fractured archeological objects. The key idea is to use tangible props for the manipulation of the vir- tual fragments. In each hand, the user manipulates an electromagnetically tracked prop, and the translations and rotations are directly mapped to the corresponding virtual fragments on the display. For each hand, a correspond- ing foot pedal is used to clutch the movements of the hands. Hence, the hands of the user can be repositioned, or the user can be switched. The software of ArcheoTUI is designed to easily change assembly hypotheses, beyond classical undo/redo, by using a scene graph. We designed ArcheoTUI on the demand of archeaologists and in a direct collaboration with them, and we con- ducted a user study on site at their workplace. This user study revealed that the interface, and especially the foot pedal, was accepted, and that all the users managed to solve simple assembly tasks. In a case study, we show the assembly of one of their fractured archeological findings.
CIDOC-CRM Spider: Stonehenge as an Example of Semantic Data Integration
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Sugimoto, Go; Felicetti, Achille; Perlingieri, Cinzia; Hermon, Sorin; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
Since archaeology in particular and humanities in general are interdisciplinary disciplines, there is an imperious need to enhance the accessibility and harmonise data integration, given their varied resource types (books, archives, scientific data, GIS, 3D models etc) and their different conceptual and technological structures and standards. A factor that further reduces accessibility and query performances is related to storing, such as physical location of data, language, and interface. The advent of Semantic Web technology represents an important advance in creating networks of archaeological knowledge based on various resources available on-line. While the valuable use of CIDOC-CRM (Comite International pour la Documentation -Conceptual Reference Model) ontology for specific CH (Cultural Heritage) domains (e.g. museums, libraries, etc) has been partially demonstrated, the interdisciplinary implementations are limited. In this article, we explore the potential of the CIDOC-CRM for a cross-domain implementation of CH data integration. We conducted tha mappings of different on-line resources related to Stonehenge to CIDOC-CRM, and evaluated them in the MAD database, a web-based application that manages natively XML-based datasets. The result ensures the validity of mapping mechanism and the semantic integration of CH data from different sources
Designing Behaviour-rich Interactive Virtual Museum Exhibitions
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Walczak, Krzysztof; Wiza, Wojciech R.; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
In this paper a new method of modelling and dynamic composition of behaviour-rich interactive 3D virtual museum exhibitions is described. The method enables museum experts, without advanced knowledge in computer programming, to create 3D virtual exhibitions accessible both locally inside the museums and remotely over the Internet. The method uses a novel Beh-VR modelling approach, which is compatible with standards such as X3D and VRML. The method has been successfully applied in several museums. Examples of interactive 3D exhibitions are provided.
Developing Effective Interfaces for Cultural Heritage 3D Immersive Environments
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Rodriguez, Karina; Morris, David; Moore, Craig; Arnold, David; Glauert, John; Jennings, Vince; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
Although the advantages of the use of 3D Immersive Virtual Environments for the presentation and communica- tion of Cultural Heritage have been demonstrated, the user interfaces and interaction techniques (in software and hardware) that are best suited have not yet been completely identified and deployed. This paper describes research conducted for developing and studying the usability of a historical town 3D Virtual Tour. For this, usability meth- ods combined with head-eyetracking technology were used to explore the suitability of these interfaces. The paper also reflects on issues raised during the design of the testing system for this experience. It is expected the results of this research will contribute towards developing effective interfaces for 3D immersive technologies as well as building a repository of lessons learned from evaluation.
GPU Spectral Viewer: Analysing Paintings from a Colorimetric Perspective
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Colantoni, Philippe; Pitzalis, Denis; Pillay, Ruven; Aitken, Genevieve; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
Over the last fifteen years, multipsectral imaging has gained in importance and interest, especially in the field of Cultural Heritage, art investigation and conservation. Extending the concept of scientific imagery such as colorimetric, infrared reflectography (IRR), ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray imaging applied to the study of paintings, multispectral imaging, coupled with high resolution and HDR (high dynamic range) has significantly improved the scope and accuracy of the non-invasive scientific analysis that is possible. In order to exploit and study such multispectral data, a special GPU-based application using a custom color management process has been developed. In this paper we will present its innovative capabilities in image processing and visualization which enhance the study of works of art.
High Dynamic Range Display of Authentically Illuminated Byzantine Art from Cyprus
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Zanyi, Eva; Chrysanthou, Yiorgos; Bashford-Rogers, Tom; Chalmers, Alan; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
High-fidelity computer reconstructions of cultural heritage sites attempt to create a faithful representation of the past physical environment. This includes modeling the scene to high precision, and accurately simulating the distribution of authentic light energy within the scene. This does not, however, ensure that the displayed image will have a high fidelity visual appearance due to the limited dynamic range of typical computer displays. Such displays only have a range of about two orders of magnitude between minimum and maximum luminance. A welldesigned cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor may do slightly better than this in a darkened room, but the maximum display luminance is only around 100 cd/m2, which does not even begin to approach natural daylight levels of approximately 105 cd/m2. Furthermore, their inability to display 'true black' means that standard displays also struggle to show low-light images accurately. In this paper we compare images of computer reconstructions of Byzantine art from Cyprus illuminated with simulated modern lighting and the candle light which was present in Byzantine times on both a traditional and a novel High Dynamic Range display.
Influencing Factors on the Visualisation of Archaeological Uncertainty
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Sifniotis, Maria; Watten, Phil; Mania, Katerina; White, Martin; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
This paper presents further work on a 3D visualisation system for the reconstruction of historical structures which takes into account archaeological uncertainty. The uncertainty associated with an archaeologist s interpretation is represented using possibility theory and visualised by shader-based information visualisation schemes. An increase or decrease in uncertainty is influenced by any related evidence recovered; we define this evidence as 'influencing factors'. Different types of archaeological evidence were identified after discussions with several archaeologists. To understand the individual importance of each influencing factor on an interpretation, we analysed data derived from formal questionnaires distributed to a selected group of archaeologists equally divided between Roman and non-Roman specialists. They were asked questions ranging from the wider perception of uncertainty to more specific ones on the identified types of archaeological evidence. We describe the stages involved in designing the questions, the process of gathering data and feedback from archaeologists, and the results themselves. Results suggest that specific evidence types are considered more favourably than others.
Interactive Augmented Experiences for Cultural Historical Events
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Linaza, Maria Teresa; Cobos, Yolanda; Mentxaka, Jon; Campos, Miren Koro; Penalba, Mauro; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
This paper presents a project called Bidaiatzera based on Augmented Reality technologies for leisure and educational applications with tourist, cultural or socio-economic contents. Augmented Reality technologies provide a seamless interaction with both real and virtual worlds, so that the player can see the real world with superimposed 3D graphical objects providing additional information. Sua is the first prototype based on the board game metaphor with a board, a die and tokens, enhanced by some augmented cards. The player can revive the historical events that took place in Donostia-San Sebastian city in 1813 using Mixed Reality technologies while interacting with other players. This first prototype has been assessed in a real scenario with different target users.
On Ancient Coin Classification
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Zaharieva, Maia; Huber-Moerk, Reinhold; Noelle, Michael; Kampel, Martin; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
Illegal trade and theft of coins appears to be a major part of the illegal antiques market. Image based recognition of coins could substantially contribute to fight against it. Central component in the permanent identification and traceability of coins is the underlying classification and identification technology. The first step of a computer aided system is the segmentation of the coin in the image. Next, a feature extraction process measures the coin in order to describe the coin unambiguously. In this paper, we focus on the segmentation task, followed by a comparison of features relevant for coin classification. Results of the algorithms implemented are presented for an image database of ancient coins.
Open Source and Open Standards for Using Integrated Geographic Data on the Web
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Felicetti, Achille; Lorenzini, Matteo; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
This article describes the first results of our research concerning the developement of a complete Open Source system based on W3C and ISO 19100 standards to integrate and manage spatial and non-spatial archaeological information on the Web. The system is based on MAD, a web tool originally developed to manage archaeological semantic datasets encoded in RDF using the CIDOC-CRM ontology. Geographic functions have been implemented to integrate spatial archaeological information for the management of unstructured documents, such as excavation diaries and reports, in a spatial context. The system will allow the creation and distribution of rich geospatial relationships across the Web and the use of geographic data in a Semantic Web scenario. The Geographic Markup Language (GML) has been used in our system to store geographic data related to archaeological records. GML information has been created using Open Source GIS software starting from vectorial data (.shp or .dxf). Brand new GML documents can be also created starting from non-spatial data. The advanced query system in MAD allows the creation of Semantic Web enriched data combining spatial and non-spatial information and using ontologies. Data serialized by the MAD system can be exported in SVG or visualized using map server web applications. The flexibility of GML features will also allow the implementation of complex query-on-map functions to visually query and generate dynamic maps. The tool can be also used to host and serialize KML archaeological files to be used in Google Earth and Google Maps applications
A Pipeline for the Digitization and the Realistic Rendering of Paintings
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Larue, Frederic; Ammann, Lucas; Dischler, Jean-Michel; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
Digitization and visualization are both of great importance for Cultural Heritage, for instance for the design of virtual galleries. Despite a lot of research, enabling a real-time walkthrough around complex digital copies still remains difficult and challenging in the general case due to the complexity of the measurement and to the amount of data that has to be dealt with. In this paper, we introduce a new dedicated pipeline for both digitization and realistic rendering of art paintings. We exploit the fact that geometrical variations over the canvas are generally small, yet not negligible from a visual point of view. Unlike most existing painting digitization systems, we thus propose to acquire both geometry and texture. Then, we render both as a whole by using, for the texture, an analytical model which is fitted from real measurements, and by using for the geometry a hybrid approach combining two relief rendering techniques according to the scale. This allows us to derive an efficient adaptive scheme guaranteeing fast rendering rates for all viewpoints. With our pipeline the painting s relief is well preserved, thus the rendering is of high quality, and in addition the final data representing the digital copies remain compact.
Populating Ancient Pompeii with Crowds of Virtual Romans
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Maim, Jonathan; Haegler, Simon; Yersin, Barbara; Mueller, Pascal; Thalmann, Daniel; Gool, Luc Van; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
Pompeii was a Roman city, destroyed and completely buried during an eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius. We have revived its past by creating a 3D model of its previous appearance and populated it with crowds of Virtual Romans. In this paper, we detail the process, based on archaeological data, to simulate ancient Pompeii life in real time. In a first step, an annotated city model is generated using procedural modelling. These annotations contain semantic data, such as land usage, building age, and window/door labels. In a second phase, the semantics are automatically interpreted to populate the scene and trigger special behaviors in the crowd, depending on the location of the characters. Finally, we describe the system pipeline, which allows for the simulation of thousands of Virtual Romans in real time.
Registration of Multi-Spectral Manuscript Images
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Diem, Markus; Lettner, Martin; Sablatnig, Robert; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
Two medieval Slavonic manuscripts are recorded, investigated and analyzed by philologists in collaboration with computer scientists. The aim of the project is to develop algorithms that support the philologists by automatically deriving the description and restoration of the scripts. The parchment partially contains two scripts, where the first script was erased. In order to enhance the erased script, the manuscript pages are imaged in seven bands between 330 and 1000 nm. A registration, aligning the resultant images, is necessary so that further image processing algorithms can combine the information gained by the different spectral bands. Therefore, the images are coarsely aligned using rotationally invariant features and an affine transformation. Afterwards, the similarity of the different images is computed by means of the normalized cross correlation. Finally, the images are accurately mapped to each other by the local weighted mean transformation. The algorithms used for the registration and preliminary results are presented in this paper.
Representing Appearance of Ancient Japanese Drawing Named Ukiyo-e
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Yin, Xin; Cai, Kangying; Takeda, Yuki; Akama, Ryo; Tanaka, Hiromi T.; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
Ukiyo-e is one traditional woodblock type Japanese drawing. Since it is made by special print technique and using Japanese paper which have very long fiber, Ukiyo-e show a beautiful appearance. In ancient age, the peerage gathered together for watching the appearance of this drawing. In this paper, the color variation of Ukiyo-e is investigated and is represented using a shading model which consider the reflection of the Japanese paper fiber. At first, a set of photos are taken. Then, from these photos, the normal of surface and fiber direction are obtained. Fitting the shading model parameters with the measured data, the appearance of Ukiyo-e can be rendered on a real-time speed. Finally, some experimental results are given to demonstrate the effect of our method.
Sense-Enabled Mixed Reality Museum Exhibitions
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Liarokapis, Fotis; Newman, Robert M.; Mount, Sarah; Goldsmith, Dan; Macan, Luis; Malone, Garry; Shuttleworth, James; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
During the past few years museums and other cultural heritage institutions have started making use of handheld technologies to provide tourist guides to their visitors. For open-air sites, a number of experimental and commercial applications have been developed based on location-based guides. However, in museum environments static audiovisual guides are the dominant technologies used. In this paper, we present a novel pervasive mixed reality framework to a sensor network capturing ambient noise that can be used to create tangible cultural heritage exhibitions. Localisation of the visitors can be established in a hybrid manner based on machine vision and a wireless sensor network allowing visitors to interact naturally or with the help of sensors. In terms of interface design, a multimodal mixed reality visualisation domain allows for an audio-visual presentation of cultural heritage artefacts.
Shape Capture Assisted by Traditional Tools
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Rushmeier, Holly; Xu, Chen; Wang, Bing; Rushmeier, Russell; Dorsey, Julie; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
We present new techniques for capturing the shape of physical objects using simple tools. From a set of caliper distance measurements between object points, we reconstruct a three dimensional structure. We show that we can refine the model using planar contours obtained with a gage that are placed in three dimensions using the caliper measurements. We demonstrate that the model we construct can be used to assist optical approaches for model capture.
Using 3D Scanning to Analyze a Proposal for the Attribution of a Bronze Horse to Leonardo da Vinci
(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Dellepiane, Matteo; Callieri, Marco; Fondersmith, Mark; Cignoni, Paolo; Scopigno, Roberto; D. Arnold and F. Niccolucci and A. Chalmers
In this paper we present how technologies developed in the context of 3D graphics (3D scanning and image-to- 3D-model mapping) have been used to evaluate in a metrically objective way the plausibility of an attribution hypothesis of a Renaissance artifact. The artifact considered is a small bronze horse (Archeological Museum, Florence, Italy), which was discovered to be very similar to a silverpoint drawing by Leonardo (Leonardo drawing #358, Windsor Royal Library, UK), thus originating an attribution hypothesis. A highly accurate digital replica of this small bronze statue was reconstructed by means of triangulation-based 3D scanning technology. Using image-to-3D-model mapping techniques the Leonardo s drawing depicting a very similar horse has been aligned to the digital 3D model, reconstructing in a virtual manner the ideal vantage points which could have been used to sketch the drawings of the horse (in the hypothesis that Leonardo had drawn it by directly looking at the bronze). The same approach has been also tried with other Leonardo s drawings depicting a similar subject, but none of those was sufficiently compatible in shape with the bronze horse to allow convergence of the image-to-3D mapping process. The approach proposed allows us to give some visually objective evidences about the shape similarity issue, which was the origin of this attribution attempt. At the same time, a purely technical evaluation does not close the attribution issue. Further archival research and expertise will be needed to solve and assess the issue of this disputed hypothesis.

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