Abstract
Constant improvements in the field of surveying, computing and distribution of digital-content are reshaping the way Cultural Heritage can be digitised and virtually accessed, even remotely via web. A traditional 2D approach for data access, exploration, retrieval and exploration may generally suffice, however more complex analyses concerning spatial and temporal features require 3D tools, which, in some cases, have not yet been implemented or are not yet generally commercially available. Efficient organisation and integration strategies applicable to the wide array of heterogeneous data in the field of Cultural Heritage represent a hot research topic nowadays. This article presents a visualisation and query tool (QueryArch3D) conceived to deal with multi-resolution 3D models. Geometric data are organised in successive levels of detail (LoD), provided with geometric and semantic hierarchies and enriched with attributes coming from external data sources. The visualisation and query front-end enables the 3D navigation of the models in a virtual environment, as well as the interaction with the objects by means of queries based on attributes or on geometries. The tool can be used as a standalone application, or served through the web. The characteristics of the research work, along with some implementation issues and the developed QueryArch3D tool will be discussed and presented.
Highlights
INTRODUCTION and related worksSteady advances in the field of surveying, computing and digital-content delivery are changing the approach Cultural Heritage can be virtually explored: thanks to such new methodologies, researchers, and new potential users like students and tourists, are having the chance to use a wide array of new tools to obtain (3D) information and perform analyses with regards to art history, architecture and archaeology
The integrated data are stored in PostgreSQL, while the interactive 3D visualisation is achieved using the game engine Unity3D, which is connected to the database by means of a PHP script
According to the observer‟s distance from the object, the visualised geometry varies from low-resolution prismatic geometries to high-resolution meshes
Summary
Steady advances in the field of surveying, computing and digital-content delivery are changing the approach Cultural Heritage can be virtually explored: thanks to such new methodologies, researchers, and new potential users like students and tourists, are having the chance to use a wide array of new tools to obtain (3D) information and perform analyses with regards to art history, architecture and archaeology. One useful possibility is offered by computersimulated 3D models, representing for example both the present and the hypothetical status of a structure Such digital models are sometimes linked to heterogeneous information and queried by means of (sometimes web-enabled) GIS tools. Keeping in mind the mentioned approaches and the existing limitations, an ideal tool able to perform analyses in the framework of architectural and archaeological Cultural Heritage should be able to perform (at least) the following four tasks: a) Handle fully 3D multi-resolution datasets, b) Allow queries based both on geometries and on attributes, c) Support 3D visualisation/navigation of the models, d) Permit both local and on-line access to the contents. Using and combining all these data, the 3D contents for the web-based visualisation and interaction QueryArch3D tool were created
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