Cultural Heritage 2007
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Item The Arnolfini Portrait in 3D - Creating Virtual World of a Painting with Inconsistent Perspective(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Jansen, Philip H.; Ruttkay, Zsofia M.; David B. Arnold and Andrej FerkoWe report on creating a 3d virtual reconstruction of the scene shown in "The Arnolfini Portrait" by Jan van Eyck. This early Renaissance painting, if painted faithfully, should confirm to one-point perspective, however it has several vanishing points instead of one. Hence our 3d reconstruction had to be based on some, from an art historian s point of view plausible assumptions on choosing a unique vanishing point and measures of certain items in the scene. We compare our approach to similar reconstructions by others. Using professional modeling and image processing computer tools, we created a 3d reconstruction of the geometry of the interior, the textures and the lighting. A perspective view of this model is compared to the original painting, showing high fidelity, but at the same time also large local mismatches due to the inconsistent handling of parallel lines in the original painting, as well as some differences in the reflected image in the mirror. A reconstruction such as ours provides new details of the original scene for scholars, is useful for art historians to find out more about the way the painting was created, and could be used as an installation for exploration in museums or other learning environments by the general public.Item Color Pages(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Arnold, David B.; Ferko, Andrej; David B. Arnold and Andrej FerkoColor PagesItem Cultural Heritage as a Vehicle for Basic Research in Computing Science: Pasteur's Quadrant and a Use-inspired Basic Research Agenda(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Arnold, David; David B. Arnold and Andrej FerkoDonald Stokes argued [Sto97] that for 50 years from the end of the second world war to the end of the 20th century there was an unhealthy taxonomy of research types which was formulated on a linear scale from pure to applied. The argument goes that the best research is only possible in environments which are free from contemplation of the potential uses to which results might be applied. In this paper current research challenges in the application of ICTs to cultural heritage information are reviewed in order to consider where these applications-linked needs require solutions that will advance the understanding of computational principles and help to develop new basic understanding in computer science, including shape manipulation and other aspects of importance in computer graphics and virtual environments. The paper draws extensively on the recent published EPOCH research agenda [AG07] for illustrations of the types of research which are required for the Cultural Heritage sector and the relationship between these and basic research challenges in Computing Science.Item Flatland: A Tool for Transforming Historical Sites into Archival Drawings(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Srisinroongruang, Rattasak; Sinzinger, Eric; Hill, Glenn; David B. Arnold and Andrej FerkoDetailed documentation of historical sites is important for archaeological discovery and cultural preservation. The traditional method of documentation is to hand sketch 2D drawings of the region. Laser range finders can be used to produce highly accurate geometric representations of the historical sites, and high resolution images provide vital detail. However, archaeologists are both used to and prefer a flat, two dimensional archival drawing of the region. Flatland provides the missing link for archaeologists between three dimensional representations and archival drawings. There are two critical pieces of Flatland texture mapping and geometric transformation. The texture map acquisition phase aligns the world geometry with the high resolution images. Many historical sites contain rocky, uneven terrain and structures that do not contain distinguishing features that would allow for automated methods of correspondence selection. Instead, manually selected correspondences between the point cloud and the high resolution image are used to compute the texture map. If the selected region is nonplanar, then a camera projection matrix is computed to determine the texture map for the point cloud. However, when the selected region is planar, the camera projection matrix can not be computed, and instead a homography is used to determine the texture map. The geometric transformation phase allows the archaeologists to essentially unfold both square and cylindrical surfaces to representations with a single dominant plane. A square room can be unfolded into four panels where geometric distance is preserved within each panel. An elliptical surface is unrolled about a flat rectangle with the height of the elliptical surface and the width equivalent to the circumference of the surface. The use of Flatland is demonstrated on scans from the Mesa Verde National Park.Item An Interactive Exploration of the Virtual Stronghold Dillenburg(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Todt, Severin; Rezk-Salama, Christof; Horz, T.; Pritzkau, Andrew; Kolb, Andreas; David B. Arnold and Andrej FerkoThis paper presents the results of an interdisciplinary project aiming at the virtual three-dimensional reconstruction of the stronghold Dillenburg, which has been completely destroyed in 1768. For an interactive virtual exploration, a high-quality 3D model was generated in close cooperation between local historians and scientists from the field of Computer Graphics based on a collection of ancient text documents, drawings and floor plans. Computer animations were generated and assembled in a DVD product for comfortable access to the virtual fortress. For the exhibition in the museum Dillenburg, a real-time application was developed for on site virtual exploration. Provided with a touch screen for interaction and a wide-screen display system, visitors can intuitively explore the virtual reconstruction and access supplemental historical background material on demand. With the multimedia installation we present a new experience which empowers visitors of the museum to explore an historical site freely at their own preferences and encourages younger audience to show more interest in cultural heritage.Item Mapping highly detailed color information on extremely dense 3D models: the case of David s restoration(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Dellepiane, Matteo; Callieri, Marco; Ponchio, Federico; Scopigno, Roberto; David B. Arnold and Andrej FerkoThe support of advanced Information Technology (IT) to preservation, restoration and documentation of Cultural Heritage is becoming a very important goal for the research community. Michelangelo's David was one of the first applications of 3D scanning technology on a highly popular work of art. The subsequent restoration campaign, started in 2002 and concluded in 2004, was also a milestone for the adoption of modern scientific analysis procedures and IT tools in the framework of a restoration process. One of the focuses in this restoration was also methodological, i.e. to plan and adopt innovative ways to document the restoration process. In this paper we present the results of an integration of different restoration data (2D and 3D datasets) which has been concluded recently. The recent evolution of HW and SW graphics technologies gave us the possibility to interactively visualize an extremely dense 3D model which incorporates the color information provided by two professional photographic campaigns, made before and after the restoration. Moreover, we present the results concerning the mapping, in this case on the 2D media, of the reliefs produced by restorers to assess and document the status of the marble surface before the restoration took place. This result could lead to new and fascinating applications of computer graphics for preservation, restoration and documentation of Cultural Heritage.Item Photorealistic Real-Time Visualization of Cultural Heritage: A Case Study of Friedrichsburg Castle in Germany(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Kuchar, Robert; Schairer, Timo; Straßer, Wolfgang; David B. Arnold and Andrej FerkoThis paper presents a novel highly immersive and interactive VR (virtual reality) installation targeted on photorealistic real-time visualization. Although applicable to many other scenarios, this work is focused primarily on virtual reconstructions in the context of cultural heritage projects. We address two shortcomings in most of the current virtual reconstructions, namely interactivity and realism. On the one hand many of them are presented either as a movie or using semi-interactive techniques. In both cases the imagery is pre-rendered and therefore the visualization is lacking interactivity. On the other hand interactive real-time presentations often are neither intuitive to navigate nor visually pleasant. We extended a real-time rendering software based on global illumination to adapt to the special needs of the visualization of virtual scenes that stem from the field of cultural heritage. A HDR (high dynamic range) daylight simulation was developed in conjunction with techniques and algorithms to significantly speed up the calculation time and increase the visual quality of the scene. To account for the different lighting situations encountered in the visualization of indoor and outdoor scenes, we developed a high dynamic range rendering pipeline that uses a dynamic tone mapping algorithm similar to human vision. To provide interactive access to the high quality 3D model even for unskilled users, we developed a very intuitive user interface based on a simple touchscreen for navigating the virtual scene. The combination of the real-time presentation of the photorealistic reconstruction and the intuitive navigation interface leads to a highly immersive and interactive VR installation. Since we are currently working on a virtual reconstruction of a Renaissance castle located in southern Germany, we will therefore use this reconstruction as a case study to present the developed features and to prove their relevance and usefulness. The virtual reconstruction is displayed using our VR installation and will be accessible to the public in the State Museum of Hohenzollern by August 2007Item Preface and Table of Contents(The Eurographics Association, 2007) -; David B. Arnold and Andrej FerkoPreface and Table of ContentsItem Tangible Heritage: Production of Astrolabes on a Laser Engraver(The Eurographics Association, 2007) Zotti, Georg; David B. Arnold and Andrej FerkoThe astrolabe, an analog computing device, used to be the iconic instrument of astronomers during the Middle Ages. It allowed a multitude of operations of practical astronomy which were otherwise cumbersome to perform in an epoch when mathematics had apparently almost been forgotten. Usually made from wood or sheet metal, a few hundred instruments, mostly from brass, survived until today and are valuable museum showpieces. This paper explains a procedural modelling approach for the construction of the classical kinds of astrolabes, which allows a wide variety of applications from plain explanatory illustrations to 3D models, and even the production of working physical astrolabes usable for public or classroom demonstrations.