scholarly journals An Integrated Approach to 3D Web Visualization of Cultural Heritage Heterogeneous Datasets

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 2508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Argyro-Maria Boutsi ◽  
Charalabos Ioannidis ◽  
Sofia Soile

The evolution of the high-quality 3D archaeological representations from niche products to integrated online media has not yet been completed. Digital archives of the field often lack multimodal data interoperability, user interaction and intelligibility. A web-based cultural heritage archive that compensates for these issues is presented in this paper. The multi-resolution 3D models constitute the core of the visualization on top of which supportive documentation data and multimedia content are spatial and logical connected. Our holistic approach focuses on the dynamic manipulation of the 3D scene through the development of advanced navigation mechanisms and information retrieval tools. Users parse the multi-modal content in a geo-referenced way through interactive annotation systems over cultural points of interest and automatic narrative tours. Multiple 3D and 2D viewpoints are enabled in real-time to support data inspection. The implementation exploits front-end programming languages, 3D graphic libraries and visualization frameworks to handle efficiently the asynchronous operations and preserve the initial assets’ accuracy. The choice of Greece’s Meteora, UNESCO world site, as a case study accounts for the platform’s applicability to complex geometries and large-scale historical environments.

Author(s):  
C. Ioannidis ◽  
I. Tallis ◽  
I. Pastos ◽  
A.-M. Boutsi ◽  
S. Verykokou ◽  
...  

Abstract. The mission of digital Cultural Heritage (CH) repositories goes beyond engagement and dissemination; their research data should be approached and correlated spatially and semantically in the service of conservation and accessibility. Therefore, a flexible system is needed to expand, reuse and repurpose their content, addressing online collaboration, real time progress and ease of use. Towards this direction, the “METEORA” web-based platform is a novel and holistic approach to the organization, management and visualization of the 3D and 2D documentation products of CH sites. It integrates a multi-scale 3D viewer based on the 3DHOP framework, personalized information access and interactive tools for data retrieval and presentation. Emphasis is given in the development of a mid-level interface for creating, updating and maintaining 3DHOP’s functionalities and customizing information based on the user’s scientific specialty and field of interest. The proposed admin control panel updates the state of the current visualization, allows the integration of 3D models and multimedia and automates the creation of clickable points of interest on top of the 3D surfaces. It is based on a MySQL Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) that supports the back-end User Interface (UI) with create, read, update and delete (CRUD) management functions of a typical RESTful service. Moreover, all the control mechanisms as well as the procedures of authentication, authorization and encryption of the credentials of the certified users are configured through the PHP scripting language and JSON files. The resulting platform achieves maximum adaptability in digital archiving of heterogeneous datasets and has increasing efficiency in representing all types of data supported by 3DHOP.


Author(s):  
D. Kitsakis ◽  
E. Tsiliakou ◽  
T. Labropoulos ◽  
E. Dimopoulou

Over the last decades 3D modelling has been a fast growing field in Geographic Information Science, extensively applied in various domains including reconstruction and visualization of cultural heritage, especially monuments and traditional settlements. Technological advances in computer graphics, allow for modelling of complex 3D objects achieving high precision and accuracy. Procedural modelling is an effective tool and a relatively novel method, based on algorithmic modelling concept. It is utilized for the generation of accurate 3D models and composite facade textures from sets of rules which are called Computer Generated Architecture grammars (CGA grammars), defining the objects’ detailed geometry, rather than altering or editing the model manually. In this paper, procedural modelling tools have been exploited to generate the 3D model of a traditional settlement in the region of Central Zagori in Greece. The detailed geometries of 3D models derived from the application of shape grammars on selected footprints, and the process resulted in a final 3D model, optimally describing the built environment of Central Zagori, in three levels of Detail (LoD). The final 3D scene was exported and published as 3D web-scene which can be viewed with 3D CityEngine viewer, giving a walkthrough the whole model, same as in virtual reality or game environments. This research work addresses issues regarding textures' precision, LoD for 3D objects and interactive visualization within one 3D scene, as well as the effectiveness of large scale modelling, along with the benefits and drawbacks that derive from procedural modelling techniques in the field of cultural heritage and more specifically on 3D modelling of traditional settlements.


2018 ◽  
pp. 31-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukáš Herman ◽  
Tomáš Řezník ◽  
Zdeněk Stachoň ◽  
Jan Russnák

Various widely available applications such as Google Earth have made interactive 3D visualizations of spatial data popular. While several studies have focused on how users perform when interacting with these with 3D visualizations, it has not been common to record their virtual movements in 3D environments or interactions with 3D maps. We therefore created and tested a new web-based research tool: a 3D Movement and Interaction Recorder (3DmoveR). Its design incorporates findings from the latest 3D visualization research, and is built upon an iterative requirements analysis. It is implemented using open web technologies such as PHP, JavaScript, and the X3DOM library. The main goal of the tool is to record camera position and orientation during a user’s movement within a virtual 3D scene, together with other aspects of their interaction. After building the tool, we performed an experiment to demonstrate its capabilities. This experiment revealed differences between laypersons and experts (cartographers) when working with interactive 3D maps. For example, experts achieved higher numbers of correct answers in some tasks, had shorter response times, followed shorter virtual trajectories, and moved through the environment more smoothly. Interaction-based clustering as well as other ways of visualizing and qualitatively analyzing user interaction were explored.


Author(s):  
Yu-Cheng Chou ◽  
Harry H. Cheng

Message Passing Interface (MPI) is a standardized library specification designed for message-passing parallel programming on large-scale distributed systems. A number of MPI libraries have been implemented to allow users to develop portable programs using the scientific programming languages, Fortran, C and C++. Ch is an embeddable C/C++ interpreter that provides an interpretive environment for C/C++ based scripts and programs. Combining Ch with any MPI C/C++ library provides the functionality for rapid development of MPI C/C++ programs without compilation. In this article, the method of interfacing Ch scripts with MPI C implementations is introduced by using the MPICH2 C library as an example. The MPICH2-based Ch MPI package provides users with the ability to interpretively run MPI C program based on the MPICH2 C library. Running MPI programs through the MPICH2-based Ch MPI package across heterogeneous platforms consisting of Linux and Windows machines is illustrated. Comparisons for the bandwidth, latency, and parallel computation speedup between C MPI, Ch MPI, and MPI for Python in an Ethernet-based environment comprising identical Linux machines are presented. A Web-based example is given to demonstrate the use of Ch and MPICH2 in C based CGI scripting to facilitate the development of Web-based applications for parallel computing.


Author(s):  
A. Guarnieri ◽  
A. Masiero ◽  
M. Piragnolo ◽  
F. Pirotti ◽  
A. Vettore

In this paper we present the results of the development of a Web-based archiving and documenting system aimed to the management of multisource and multitemporal data related to cultural heritage. As case study we selected the building complex of Villa Revedin Bolasco in Castefranco Veneto (Treviso, Italy) and its park. Buildings and park were built in XIX century after several restorations of the original XIV century area. The data management system relies on a geodatabase framework, in which different kinds of datasets were stored. More specifically, the geodatabase elements consist of historical information, documents, descriptions of artistic characteristics of the building and the park, in the form of text and images. In addition, we used also floorplans, sections and views of the outer facades of the building extracted by a TLS-based 3D model of the whole Villa. In order to manage and explore these rich dataset, we developed a geodatabase using PostgreSQL and PostGIS as spatial plugin. The Web-GIS platform, based on HTML5 and PHP programming languages, implements the NASA Web World Wind virtual globe, a 3D virtual globe we used to enable the navigation and interactive exploration of the park. Furthermore, through a specific timeline function, the user can explore the historical evolution of the building complex.


Author(s):  
M. N. Koeva

Nowadays, there are rapid developments in the fields of photogrammetry, laser scanning, computer vision and robotics, together aiming to provide highly accurate 3D data that is useful for various applications. In recent years, various LiDAR and image-based techniques have been investigated for 3D modelling because of their opportunities for fast and accurate model generation. For cultural heritage preservation and the representation of objects that are important for tourism and their interactive visualization, 3D models are highly effective and intuitive for present-day users who have stringent requirements and high expectations. Depending on the complexity of the objects for the specific case, various technological methods can be applied. The selected objects in this particular research are located in Bulgaria – a country with thousands of years of history and cultural heritage dating back to ancient civilizations. \this motivates the preservation, visualisation and recreation of undoubtedly valuable historical and architectural objects and places, which has always been a serious challenge for specialists in the field of cultural heritage. <br><br> In the present research, comparative analyses regarding principles and technological processes needed for 3D modelling and visualization are presented. The recent problems, efforts and developments in interactive representation of precious objects and places in Bulgaria are presented. Three technologies based on real projects are described: (1) image-based modelling using a non-metric hand-held camera; (2) 3D visualization based on spherical panoramic images; (3) and 3D geometric and photorealistic modelling based on architectural CAD drawings. Their suitability for web-based visualization are demonstrated and compared. Moreover the possibilities for integration with additional information such as interactive maps, satellite imagery, sound, video and specific information for the objects are described. This comparative study discusses the advantages and disadvantages of these three approaches and their integration in multiple domains, such as web-based 3D city modelling, tourism and architectural 3D visualization. It was concluded that image-based modelling and panoramic visualisation are simple, fast and effective techniques suitable for simultaneous virtual representation of many objects. However, additional measurements or CAD information will be beneficial for obtaining higher accuracy.


Author(s):  
M. Christen

Providing worldwide high resolution data for virtual globes consists of compute and storage intense tasks for processing data. Furthermore, rendering complex 3D-Geodata, such as 3D-City models with an extremely high polygon count and a vast amount of textures at interactive framerates is still a very challenging task, especially on mobile devices. This paper presents an approach for processing, caching and serving massive geospatial data in a cloud-based environment for large scale, out-of-core, highly scalable 3D scene rendering on a web based virtual globe. Cloud computing is used for processing large amounts of geospatial data and also for providing 2D and 3D map data to a large amount of (mobile) web clients. In this paper the approach for processing, rendering and caching very large datasets in the currently developed virtual globe “OpenWebGlobe 2” is shown, which displays 3D-Geodata on nearly every device.


Author(s):  
A.-M. Boutsi ◽  
C. Ioannidis ◽  
S. Soile

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> In the last decade 3D datasets of the Cultural Heritage field have become extremely rich and high detailed due to the evolution of the technologies they derive from. However, their online deployment, both for scientific and general public purposes is usually deficient in user interaction and multimedia integration. A single solution that efficiently addresses these issues is presented in this paper. The developed framework provides an interactive and lightweight visualization of high-resolution 3D models in a web browser. It is based on 3D Heritage Online Presenter (3DHOP) and Three.js library, implemented on top of WebGL API. 3DHOP capabilities are fully exploited and enhanced with new, high level functionalities. The approach is especially suited to complex geometry and it is adapted to archaeological and architectural environments. Thus, the multi-dimensional documentation of the archaeological site of Meteora, in central Greece is chosen as the case study. Various navigation paradigms are implemented and the data structure is enriched with the incorporation of multiple 3D model viewers. Furthermore, a metadata repository, comprises ortho-images, photographic documentation, video and text, is accessed straight forward through the inspection of the main 3D scene of Meteora by a system of interconnections.</p>


Author(s):  
M. N. Koeva

Nowadays, there are rapid developments in the fields of photogrammetry, laser scanning, computer vision and robotics, together aiming to provide highly accurate 3D data that is useful for various applications. In recent years, various LiDAR and image-based techniques have been investigated for 3D modelling because of their opportunities for fast and accurate model generation. For cultural heritage preservation and the representation of objects that are important for tourism and their interactive visualization, 3D models are highly effective and intuitive for present-day users who have stringent requirements and high expectations. Depending on the complexity of the objects for the specific case, various technological methods can be applied. The selected objects in this particular research are located in Bulgaria – a country with thousands of years of history and cultural heritage dating back to ancient civilizations. \this motivates the preservation, visualisation and recreation of undoubtedly valuable historical and architectural objects and places, which has always been a serious challenge for specialists in the field of cultural heritage. <br><br> In the present research, comparative analyses regarding principles and technological processes needed for 3D modelling and visualization are presented. The recent problems, efforts and developments in interactive representation of precious objects and places in Bulgaria are presented. Three technologies based on real projects are described: (1) image-based modelling using a non-metric hand-held camera; (2) 3D visualization based on spherical panoramic images; (3) and 3D geometric and photorealistic modelling based on architectural CAD drawings. Their suitability for web-based visualization are demonstrated and compared. Moreover the possibilities for integration with additional information such as interactive maps, satellite imagery, sound, video and specific information for the objects are described. This comparative study discusses the advantages and disadvantages of these three approaches and their integration in multiple domains, such as web-based 3D city modelling, tourism and architectural 3D visualization. It was concluded that image-based modelling and panoramic visualisation are simple, fast and effective techniques suitable for simultaneous virtual representation of many objects. However, additional measurements or CAD information will be beneficial for obtaining higher accuracy.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document