Gabriele GUIDI1 / Bernard FRISCHER2 (1Politecnico di Milano, Italy / 2Indiana University, USA) Keywords: 3D modeling, photomodeling Abstract: In recent years, photomodeling solutions for creating 3D models have matured to the point where they have become part of the Virtual Heritage toolkit. We will begin our paper by showing some recent examples of photomodeling of ancient sculpture from Hadrian’s Villa (Tivoli, Italy) and of the archaeological site of Cosa in Tuscany (Italy). Photomodeling has the advantage of requiring only a digital camera, not a dedicated piece of equipment such as a laser or structured-light scanner. This difference results in an immediate savings in cost since even a professional-level digital camera is less expensive than a scanner. The time needed for photographic data capture is typically measured in minutes, as compared to the hours needed by users of the dedicated devices. There is a price to be paid for this convenience: the 3D model made photographically does not have the same complexity as one made by laser or structured-light scanning. The former typically consist of 4 to 15 million polygons whereas the latter can measure in the hundreds of millions. Models in the range of 4 to 15 million polygons are useful for visualization, but they are usually not sufficiently detailed for offering the level of detail required for scientific documentation of cultural heritage artifacts. This paper reports on research into the question of how the model produced photographically —whatever its size and resolution—compares in terms of accuracy to a model produced by a dedicated device. Our test case will be the statue of Caligula in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, of which we have 3D models made in the traditional way (Faro Arm with data processed by Polyworks) and through photomodeling (Agisoft Photoscan and Autodesk...

Pablo RODRÍGUEZ-NOVARRO / Teresa GIL PIQUERAS (Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain) Keywords: 3D modeling, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality Abstract: This paper reports on a project to digitally scan and model a number of existing prehistoric art objects in the collections of the Prehistoric Museum in Valencia as well as the archaeological sites where the objects were found.  The 3D models, along with related metadata, will be made available at the museum and via the Internet. The goal is to allow researchers and visitors to have a full visualization of the objects. The technology to be used inside the museum is a combination of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. Once the project is implemented in the museum, it is hoped it will completely change the experience of visitors and researchers. They will be able move a virtual object with their fingertips and to manipulate it without endangering the actual artifact. Furthermore, users will be able to visualize objects in the museum’s collections that are in storage as well as related items in other museums. In addition, the visitors and researchers will be able to use their smart phone or tablet to view a virtual image of the caves where the artifacts were...

Perla GIANNI-FALVO (Studi Uniti, Florence, Italy) Keywords: assessment, Augmented Reality, cognitive technologies Abstract: AR technologies applications in museums have been abruptly growing in the last few years, but the metrics used for evaluating their impact on the museum public is often based only on qualitative analyses. This simplified approach may give results strongly biased by the “interpretation” of the perception each user gives according to his culture, tradition, attitude to the use of technology, etc., rather than the actual psycho-physiological response induced by the immersion in a synthetically enriched environment. Recently the chapel inside Palazzo Medici in Florence, frescoed with the “Procession of the Magi” by Benozzo Gozzoli, was used for an experiment of guided perception with the support of multimedia technologies and Augmented Reality in the workshop, “Procession in time through to the splendor of the interior epiphany.” The aim of that project was to integrate aesthetic-historic-philological studies relating to the artistic product and its genesis, directing attention at the response of the observer in relation to the aesthetic experience. The immersion itinerary was thus focused on the analysis of the observer’s capacity to enter into contact with the work of art through the sensory channels and on the manner in which this relation can be augmented. This fostered a phenomenological relationship with the work of art, and the relation in turn became the subject of research to detect the psychological and physical reactions, and in particular the emotional response. The visitors were involved in an impact assessment detected through qualitative (collection of data in the form of interviews, comments, visual images and documents) and quantitative psycho-physiological tools. The latter are based on the measurement of certain physiological parameters (heartbeat, respiratory rate, oxygen consumption, brain mapping etc.) that express psycho-emotive correlates.  The reactions occurring during the itinerary of images, symbols and sounds are investigated to discern the reaction of the entire psyche-soma system, and in particular the emotional...

Arthur CLAY (Digital Art Weeks, ETH Zurich, Switzerland) Keywords: digital technology in museums Abstract: In a time where communication technology has become a fundamental force in bringing about social-cultural change, museums are in need of becoming more aware of what might be termed as “curating the invisible”, referring to how museums can use digital technology to curate, market content, and communicate to their target audiences. The success of any institution today for the presentation of art will depend solely on that institute’s abilities to communicate to its own public, who now being digital natives breed in virtual worlds will no longer accept being presented with solely things real.  It is no longer the real object itself that heads an exhibit, but its digital counterpart in context of the object it virtually links to, or how the blending of the virtual and real creates a unique experience for the visitor. Here, it’s important to note that museums and other cultural institutions should play an important role in giving recognition to new directions ad aid in acknowledging the importance of virtual space and to showcase how emerging technologies are exploring it. The not only includes changing commonly accepted cultural logic with which arts is produced, distributed, displayed and marketed, but also includes how this new form of hybridity can manifest within the walls of the museum while at the same time merge both real and virtual and expand into the invisible beyond...

Adele MAGNELLI (ETT S.p.A., Italy) Keywords: Oculus Rift, ICT, advanced technologies,virtual reality Abstract: The paper will describe an Oculus Rift application in a cultural heritage immersive exhibit, developed by the ICT company ETT S.p.A., for the Medieval Castle in Monteverde, located in Avellino province (southern Italy) and dating from the ninth century. The exhibit – now under construction – will open in August 2014. The project is a development of the approach that advanced technologies can be used to enhance visitor engagement and ‘absorb’ them into the storyline. This concept is applied in the castle Throne Room, where the visitor sits on a rotating chair and – wearing an Oculus Rift device – has a 360° view of a 3D reconstruction of the hall, complete with detailed and life-like furniture and fittings. In this way, visitors experience a real ‘time-shift’ into the atmosphere of the medieval period, aiding storytelling and transforming them into an active participant in the ‘story’ narrated by the historical site. The project will exploit Oculus Rift’s features in order to obtain – as a final result – a deep-level immersive virtual reality environment. It creates the sensation of being entirely transported into a virtual three-dimensional world and can provide a far more intuitive experience than screen-based media. By removing an interface layer between the user and the experience, Oculus Rift has huge potential and will be able to have deep emotional impact on users. It has the enormous ability to deceive the brain into feeling that a particular situation or setting is ‘really...