Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

Analysis of cultural heritage artifacts represents a very important first step in any restoration/conservation attempt. Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy - Attenuated Total Reflectance (FTIR-ATR) technique can be successfully applied for the study of a wide range of historical artifacts (several papers describing the application of FTIR for the analysis of historical metals, paper, ceramic, fabrics, etc.). The present paper aims to present the application of FTIR-ATR for the characterization of historical fibers. The analyzed artifact represents a traditional pillowcase originating from Moldavia historical region, from the end of the XIX century – beginning of the XX century, belonging to a private collection. The technique offers some advantages because relatively small samples are directly analyzed after they are pressed against the surface of the diamond crystal without damaging the samples. Identification of fiber type enables sometimes to approximate the age of an artifact, the climate type or the trade routes and manufacturing process used. The artifact is formed of two major components: the support textile fiber and the colored fibers. The most encountered materials traditionally used for such objects are wool, flax and hemp. While wool is easily identified in the FTIR spectra due to its sharp and intense characteristic peaks, in the case of cellulosic fibers and especially for differentiation between flax and hemp fibers it was necessary to calculate the average values of the band intensity ratios I/I and I/I.

Nowadays, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the traditional construction technology used in many of some important monuments in Romania. To address this limitation and to assist in their conservation and restoration, this study documents the existing condition of different historic structures. Methods and applications for 3D scanning, image scanning and no-contact and non-destructive methods are applied in this paper for structural analysis of the stuccoes from a patrimony building (Fântaneanu House, Slatina). To record and document the condition of this house, the laser scanning is used in order to identify the initial size and shape of some damaged parts of the monument. Advancement in diagnosis methods (spectral and microscopic analytical methods) for the conservation/restoration of this patrimony building.

This paper aims to summarize the steps taken towards the development of a semi-automated system in an attempt to create computer modeling of the original morphology of the individual buildings and respective urban texture for the so called “cas” houses which are the characteristic traditional buildings of the Siirt Province in Turkey. For the purpose of developing the proposed system, the architectural space forming methods that are closely related with the structural composition of the buildings where loose stones are joined with a strong and quick drying mortar are observed. It has been detected that cas houses are in fact built in time through an incremental expansion approach making use of repeating rectangular cells in horizontal plane coming side to side, and upper floor plans are developed almost identically to ground floor layout. The rhythmic layout of the façade elements such as doors and windows, cut rectangular pyramidal form of the buildings and specific elements such as stair covering vaults and underpasses are both enriching the building form and enabling easier detection of the original morphology of the buildings. The proposed form finding system is based on the principle of processing the approximately measured outer boundaries of the existing buildings to deduce internal spaces’ sizes and layout which are in fact the sole sources causing the exterior building form for cas houses.

A fortified church is a building which has a religious meaning, but also played a defensive role in times of war. Many fortified churches from countries such as Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland, Poland, France, Denmark, Portugal, Germany or Belarus featured thick walls and high battlements and embrasures. However, Middle Age fortified churches are different from castles and fortresses because they were designed to protect small communities. Transylvania hosts the highest number of fortified churches from Europe. In the medieval ages, more than 300 churches were built by the inhabitants of this area. This was the direct result of the constant invasions from the Ottomans and other nomad populations such as Tatars. Many of these edifices date since the 13 century, but some are in an advanced state of degradation, caused mainly by poor preservation measures and lack of interest from the local authorities.

This paper introduces a system which aims to increase the awareness about the fortified churches from a small area of Transylvania called “Țara Bârsei”. Our focus is on the visual preservation of several of these monuments through the technique of photogrammetry, as well as the implementation of a stand which would attract the potential tourists. The key idea of our study is to influence them to visit several churches by placing next to each other in Virtual Reality both mainstream and low-profile objectives. We assess users’ opinion about a holographic stand commanded by a mobile application which includes the 3D models, pictures and a short description of the fortified churches based on a modified HARUS questionnaire. Results show increased interest, directly resulted from the visualization technology.

This work aims to examine the reliability of smartphones that incorporate 3D depth sensors for 3D reconstruction of cultural heritage objects. The main focus is to compare the models generated with two image-based methods: photogrammetry and Tango Constructor application. The result are promising, showings that Tango-based method is an efficient way for 3D reconstruction of historical artifacts and is able to provide morphometric data comparable with photogrammetry-based data. The method can provide restorers a quick way to record vast amount of data, combined with sufficient accuracy and ease-of-use and this make it a potential alternative to conventional methods, like photogrammetry or laser scanning.

Modern recommender systems technology appeared in Cultural Heritage application relatively recently, particularly during the dawn of the 21 century. There is already a significant amount of relevant works in the bibliography, which has been primarily empowered by large-scale research and development projects. Various approaches have been adopted from the recommender systems technology, including collaborative filtering, content-based, knowledge-based and hybrid systems. In most of these approaches that focused on museum guidance, which is the focus of this paper, the museum has been assumed to be a form of a gallery and the visitor was treated primarily as a user in seek on engagement and enjoyment. The free museum roaming was the main form of visit that has been considered and targeted, while the educational factors and storytelling aspects have been markedly overlooked. In this paper a new framework for the user satisfaction modelling is being presented that quantifies user satisfaction based on a weighted combination of various probabilistic factors that are being estimated during a museum visit. The goal is to provide a model of user satisfaction that can be used for museum recommenders that could guide either free-roaming visits or guided-tour scenarios for visitors of various motivations and backgrounds.

Augmented reality has seen an increased popularity among the last decades due to technological advances and, a consequent growth of the amount of augmented reality systems, became available. However, in order to diffuse this technology successfully, understand users’ feelings when using augmented reality applications is considered a major issue. This study implemented this technology in a cultural heritage outdoor context and tested it - to evaluate user’s perspective regarding to personal satisfaction – including cultural enrichment acquired –, ease of use and their intention to use it. The results obtained, through questionnaires, presented the visitors acceptance regarding the usage of this type of solutions among a cultural heritage context, since it may become future visits more pleasant and desirable. The user’s majority expressed the request to use this technology more often in cultural heritage spaces.

This research is focused on the importance of using modern technologies in preserving and exploring Cultural Heritage (CH). Specifically, Augmented Reality (AR) has the potential to enhance the user experience related to cultural heritage. We briefly present the main technological approaches in CH and a state of the art in mobile augmented reality. The latest Software Development Kit (SDK) for building AR applications are reviewed and compared. The 3D object that participants could place in the real environment was obtained using photogrammetry, a popular and relatively easy to use digitization technique. The virtual object represents a fortified church and is part of a group of UNESCO monuments from the historical and ethnographical region called “Țara Bârsei”, located in Brasov, Romania. We also provided some guidelines to ensure an accurate 3D reconstruction of any object. We assess users’ perception regarding two mobile AR applications, one based on Project Tango while the other was developed using ARCore. Results confirm that AR improves user experience and increases the enjoyment of learning about cultural heritage.

We investigate in this work the potential of multimodal rendering for assisting users during culturally-related navigation and manipulation tasks inside virtual environments. We argue that natural gestures play an important role for engaging users in experiencing the cultural dimension of a given environment. To this end, we propose an open system for multi-user visualization and interaction that enables users to employ natural gestures.

We explored different configurations and controls in order to achieve the most accurate and natural user experience. One being switching between the navigation and manipulation mode based on distance and orientation towards different points of interest and the other being based on interacting with a virtual UI used for switching between the two modes.

We also implemented both a single-user and a multi-user version. The single-user version having a normal, computer monitor based, point of view is better for a more accurate and detailed viewing experience. Also, in this version the user would be wearing the Myo armband and also using the Leap Motion for a more immersed experience. The multi-user version is based on a holographic pyramid which has two user perspectives, one of the Myo user and the other being the Leap Motion user’s, and two for the spectators’ point of view.

Finally, we discuss findings on the users’ perceptions of experienced cultural immersion.

Now that virtual reality has finally become a customer ready product, museums can use this new mean to enhance their exhibitions. The main problem however is that such a tool was not thought for casual users, and to adapt this new technology to short experiences such as the ones museums could provide, it is necessary to reduce the adaptation time to the new mean. In this paper, we discuss how removing physical controllers in favour of visually-tracked virtual hands could significantly reduce the time needed by casual users to adapt to new experiences, underlying the current technological limitations both in terms of technology and design.