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Now showing 1 - 10 of 19
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    A Peer to Peer Network Environment for Optimized Digital Rights Management of Digital Cultural Heritage
    (The Eurographics Association, 2008) Tsolis, Dimitrios; Michael Ashley and Sorin Hermon and Alberto Proenca and Karina Rodriguez-Echavarria
    As a general protection measure for copyright violations through digital technologies including peer to peer (P2P), copyright owners often uses Digital Rights Management (DRM) techniques to encrypt and watermark content or otherwise restrict access, totally blocking digital content to be accessed through the Internet and the P2P infrastructure. This paper claims that DRM and P2P can be quite complementary. Specifically, a P2P infrastructure is presented which allows broad digital content exchange while on the same time supports copyright protection and management through DRM technologies
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    On the Use of Computer Vision for Numismatic Research
    (The Eurographics Association, 2008) Zambanini, Sebastian; Kampel, Martin; Schlapke, Mario; Michael Ashley and Sorin Hermon and Alberto Proenca and Karina Rodriguez-Echavarria
    This paper gives a survey about numismatic research fields where computer vision methods have the potential to improve the effectiveness and impact of research work. In total, five different parts of numismatic research areas are identified: the classification of coins into given types, the identification of concrete coin specimens, the identification of coins struck by the same die, the reassembling of broken coin fragments and the segmentation and surveying of coins. For each application a problem description is given and the use of computer vision methods is discussed in detail. Additionally, for the image-based classification, identification and segmentation of coins results achieved so far are presented. Since computer vision methods are applied on photographs of coins, their acquisition (both in 2D and 3D) is covered as well
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    Accurate Modelling of Roman Lamps in Conimbriga using High Dynamic Range
    (The Eurographics Association, 2008) Gonçalves, Alexandrino José Marques; Magalhães, Luís Gonzaga; Moura, João Paulo; Chalmers, Alan; Michael Ashley and Sorin Hermon and Alberto Proenca and Karina Rodriguez-Echavarria
    The Human Visual System has a remarkable ability to acquire colour and contrast of all the things that surround us. This is particularly evident in extreme lighting conditions such as bright light or dark environments. However, it is simply not possible to represent such a range of lighting on a typical display today. This is about to change. The field of High Dynamic Range (HDR) imagery allows us to capture and display the full range of human vision. The use of technologies in the preservation and dissemination of cultural heritage can play an important role in the representation and interpretation of our past legacy. A major field of application is virtual reconstructions of ancient historical environments. In this domain, the way we see such (reconstructed) environments is particularly important in order to establish a correct interpretation of that historical setting. In this paper we present a case study of the reconstruction of a Roman site. We generate HDR images of mosaics and frescoes from one of the most impressive monuments in the ruins of Conimbriga, Portugal, an ancient city of the Roman Empire. We show that the HDR viewing paradigm is well suited for archaeological interpretation, since its high contrast and chromaticity can disclose and present us an enhanced viewing experience, closer to how the artefacts may have been perceived in the past. To achieve the requisite level of precision, in addition to a precise geometric 3D model, it is crucial to integrate in the virtual simulation authentic physical data of the light used in the period under consideration. Thereby in order to create a realistic physical based environment we use in our lighting simulations real data obtained from Roman luminaries of that time.
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    Multi-resolution Modeling of Complex and Detailed Cultural Heritage
    (The Eurographics Association, 2008) Remondino, Fabio; Girardi, Stefano; Gonzo, Lorenzo; Rizzi, Alessandro; Michael Ashley and Sorin Hermon and Alberto Proenca and Karina Rodriguez-Echavarria
    The article reports the interdisciplinary project of the virtualization of the Great Inscription of Gortyna (Crete) for 3D documentation, structural studies and physical replica purposes. The digitization of the longest epigraphic text of the Greek civilization (6 m long and 1.75 m high, with ca 2-3 mm depth engraved letters) and its surrounding heritage area (ca 30 x 30 m), required a long planning and the construction of a dedicated acquisition system to speed up the surveying time, limited to few hours per day. Primarily range sensors were employed in a multi-resolution way, digitizing detailed parts in highresolution and less smoothed areas with lower geometric resolution. Some selected areas were also modeled with our multi-photo geometrically constrained image matching approach to demonstrate that the same accuracy and details can be achieved using either scanners or photogrammetry. The derived 3D model of the heritage is now the basis for further archaeological studies on the incision techniques and a deeper structural analysis on the monument. The challenges of the work stay in the acquisition, processing and integration of the multi-resolution data as well as their visualization.
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    Color Enhancement for Rapid Prototyping
    (The Eurographics Association, 2008) Cignoni, Paolo; Gobbetti, Enrico; Pintus, Ruggero; Scopigno, Roberto; Michael Ashley and Sorin Hermon and Alberto Proenca and Karina Rodriguez-Echavarria
    We propose to exploit the color capabilities of recent rapid prototyping hardware devices to enhance the visual appearance of reproduced objects. In particular, by carefully pre-computing surface shading, we are able to counterbalance the sub-surface scattering (SSS) effects that hinder the perception of fine surface details. As a practical result, we are able to reproduce small scale copies of cultural heritage artifacts with an increased readability of the tiniest features and particulars, without requiring manual post-reproduction interventions or hand painting
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    3D Enhanced Model from Multiple Data Sources for the Analysis of the Cylinder Seal of Ibni-Sharrum
    (The Eurographics Association, 2008) Pitzalis, Denis; Cignoni, Paolo; Menu, Michel; Aitken, Genevieve; Michael Ashley and Sorin Hermon and Alberto Proenca and Karina Rodriguez-Echavarria
    In this paper we present the result of the integration of multiple data sources of different 3D acquisition techniques. These acquisitions have been done in order to create a new way to document works of art that have been applied to the "Cylinder seal of Ibni-Sharrum". X-ray tomography has been used to reveal the exact position of inclusions and the presence fissure in the mineral structure; optical micro topography gives the prints of the surface of the seal with a unparallelled precision of up to 0.1μm. Finally a lower resolution 3D model obtained via photogrammetry has been used as a starting point where the tomographic and micro topographic data sets have been superimposed and integrated without precision loss. Furthermore, the textures obtained from HDR photographs has been registered and merged onto the high resolution mesh. These methods have pros and cons that will be discussed and the final obtained model will be the sum of all the complementary cons. The final result of this interdisciplinary investigation will help the curator to better describe the fabrication techniques used in order to achieve the final object and a contemporary artist to do a reproduction of the cylinder at a scale of 1000:1.
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    Automatic Reconstruction of Virtual Heritage Sites
    (The Eurographics Association, 2008) Rodrigues, Nuno; Magalhães, Luís Gonzaga; Moura, João Paulo; Chalmers, Alan; Michael Ashley and Sorin Hermon and Alberto Proenca and Karina Rodriguez-Echavarria
    The virtual reconstruction of heritage sites has been the focus of many projects. These typically involve significant use of manual reconstruction techniques, and thus a great deal of human effort to create the virtual structures. Also, often, there is not sufficient physical evidence to recreate these structures precisely as they may have been in the past. To address these issues a domain specific modelling method for the automatic generation of virtual heritage structures is presented in this paper. The method is guided by heritage knowledge about the construction rules of heritage structures, encoded in a formal grammar, and may be used to create new structures automatically. The case study entails the automatic reconstruction of the archaeological site of Conimbriga, in Portugal, which contains the ruins of an ancient city of the Roman Empire. The results show the generation of a virtual reconstruction of a particular house, the House of the Skeletons, which had an important relevance to the city because of its architecture.
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    3D Modeling of Large and Complex Site Using Multi-sensor Integration and Multi-resolution Data
    (The Eurographics Association, 2008) Guidi, Gabriele; Remondino, Fabio; Russo, Michele; Menna, Fabio; Rizzi, Alessandro; Michael Ashley and Sorin Hermon and Alberto Proenca and Karina Rodriguez-Echavarria
    The article describes a multi-resolution approach developed for the 3D modeling of the entire Roman Forum in Pompeii, Italy. The archaeological area, approximately 150 x 80 m, contains more than 350 finds spread all over the Forum as well as larger mural structures of previous buildings and temples. The interdisciplinary 3D modeling work consists of a multi-scale image- and range-based digital documentation method developed to fulfil all the surveying and archaeological needs and exploit all the potentialities of the actual 3D modeling techniques. Data's resolution spans from few decimetres down to few millimetres, both in geometry and texture. The employed surveying methodologies have pros and cons which will be addressed and discussed. The first results of the integration of the different 3D data in a unique and seamless textured 3D model will be presented.
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    Back to 2nd AD A VR on-line experience with Virtual Rome Project
    (The Eurographics Association, 2008) Pescarin, Sofia; Calori, L.; Camporesi, C.; Ioia, M. Di; Forte, M.; Galeazzi, F.; Imboden, S.; Moro, A.; Palombini, A.; Vassallo, V.; Vico, L.; Michael Ashley and Sorin Hermon and Alberto Proenca and Karina Rodriguez-Echavarria
    The Virtual Rome Project, commissioned by Seat Yellow Pages and the Italian Chamber of Commerce, has developed a VR webGIS application, with front-end and back-end on line solutions, for the interpretation, reconstruction and 3d exploration of archaeological and potential past landscapes of Rome. The purpose is the creation of a three-dimensional open source environment, embedded in a web-browser. The web application has two components: a front end that let the final user interactively explore the reconstructed space and a back end (still in development) that helps researchers to consistently build up the data structures needed to the complex activity of landscape reconstruction. At present the archaeological and ancient landscape of Rome has been reconstructed with variable resolution and accuracy (generally w 10-100 Mt, selected areas near via Flaminia, via Appia and Imperial Fora, with a resolution of 20 cm). Sites, monuments and archaeological areas are connected with their context and are reconstructed in accordance with real and hypothetical topographies both for the present day and for the past. We will describe the process of contents and software development as well as the methodological approach to ancient landscape reconstruction. The paper discusses also some problematic aspects that the Virtual Rome on line application had to face, both from archaeological and ICT points of view: reliability of reconstructed past landscape; the reconstruction as open and scientific process; large territory dataset on line management (32 GB of high resolution aerial images); different coordinate systems and data resolutions integration; 3d models complexity and dimension (texture and geometry) integration and efficient exploration; vegetation integration; continuous interaction for inter and intra-site browsing and plug-in integration in the browsers most commonly used. We present solutions to further develop the back-end VR webGIS builder, in order to allow a continuous modification of the landscape and the integration of different projects, to realize a 3d cooperative environment and a reference point for virtual communities.
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    The Arrigo Showcase Reloaded - towards a sustainable link between 3D and semantics
    (The Eurographics Association, 2008) Havemann, Sven; Settgast, Volker; Berndt, René; Eide, Øyvind; Fellner, Dieter W.; Michael Ashley and Sorin Hermon and Alberto Proenca and Karina Rodriguez-Echavarria
    It is still a big technical problem to establish a relation between a shape and its meaning in a sustainable way. We present a solution with a markup method that allows to label parts of a 3D object in a similar way to labeling parts of a hypertext. A 3D-markup can serve both as hyperlink and as link anchor, which is the key to bi-directional linking between 3D objects and web documents. Our focus is on a sustainable 3D software infrastructure for application scenarios ranging from e-mail and internet over authoring and browsing semantic networks to interactive museum presentations. We demonstrate the workflow and the effectiveness of our tools by re-doing the Arrigo 3D showcase. We are working towards a 'best practice' example for information modeling in cultural heritage.