Cindy Kröber

A Model Classification for Digital 3D Reconstruction in the Context of Humanities Research

Digital 3D reconstruction methods have been widely applied to support research and the presentation of historical objects since the 1990s. While technological backgrounds, project opportunities as well as methodological considerations for application are widely discussed in literature, a comprehensive, model classification for digital 3D reconstruction is still lacking. Against this background, this article aims to discuss common approaches to classification of scholarly work. The identification of specific issues and challenges in the context of humanities research is also discussed. A prototype classification scheme for digital reconstruction in humanities research is proposed. It has been applied to and tested in two case studies.

Educational App Creation for the Cathedral in Freiberg

This project seminar aims at creating and evaluating a manual for interdisciplinary projects as part of a learning process. Working together, pedagogues and students from different disciplines within the humanities and sciences of different universities assess tools and recommendations for successful collaborations while developing an app for the visitors of the cathedral in Freiberg. As part of the project, the students gain expertise in project management and apply their theoretical knowledge to a real object and assignment. The introduction to techniques from other disciplines as well as the requirements needed to create an app for users unfamiliar with the cathedral and basic principles of art history and linguistics is a true challenge which complicates their work for the app. The seminar provides an option for students to gain practical experience before entering the job market. The outcomes and contributions serve as a reference. The results of the project seminar and the manual may be assigned to other interdisciplinary projects.

Virtual Reconstruction of Historical Architecture as Media for Knowledge Representation

3D reconstructions have always been an important medium for teaching, illustrating and researching historical facts and items, especially architecture. While 3D reconstructions in academic contexts aim at an accurate virtual representation of a historic original, various knowledge communication effects influence a creation and understanding of virtual representations. From a temporal point of view, architecture usually lasts beyond a human lifespan, and concepts, ideas and messages of deceased builders are available only via sources—either through the architectural object itself or by descriptions or depictions of it. While a creational process of virtual representation is often performed by cross-disciplinary workgroups, an exchange of knowledge between involved individuals is characterised by the need for a synchronisation of personal mental models and organisational and cooperational learning. Moreover, architectural representations address a wide and heterogeneous audience. All described processes are highly supported by visual media, such as images, virtual models or the architectural object itself. To explore knowledge-related phenomena, the authors performed four stages of investigation using qualitative and quantitative research methods. While a first research stage focuses on the scope and overall relevance of virtual architecture within the field of digital heritage, a second stage investigates phenomena due to a creation of virtual architectural representations. A third stage examines how skills and competencies for creating virtual architectural representations evolve during a project and if teaching facilitates the development. Finally, a fourth stage evaluates design approaches for virtual building representations to make them comprehensible for an audience.

First Experiences of Applying a Model Classification for Digital 3D Reconstruction in the Context of Humanities Research

While technological backgrounds, project opportunities, and methodological considerations for application are widely discussed, there is still no comprehensive classification scheme for digital 3D reconstruction in humanities research projects. Therefore we developed a prototype scheme in 2016. In this article we present the first results of applying this scheme and classifying five projects. Within this application we tested for intercoder reliability and for potential weaknesses of the scheme. While the reliability of the proposed scheme is generally good for categories with discrete values, qualitative categories result in highly differing coding.

Creating Suitable Tools for Art and Architectural Research with Historic Media Repositories

Due to the ongoing digitization, digital libraries are used more and more by art and architectural historians. Nevertheless, the design of those platforms does not necessarily meet the expectations and user requirements of the scholars. This is especially valid for digital libraries dedicated to historic media such as photography. In this article, we aim to analyze the user community in a first step, in order to see from which fields of interest they come and how far developed their computer affinity is. In a second step, the user requirements of the scholars will be examined, specifically with regard to research questions of architectural history. Based upon those observations, in a third part a possible technical solution will be proposed that could facilitate the work with digital libraries as well as the research process. A case study on the question of the correlation between urban development and the perception of the city will give a further validation of the analytical parts, showing the deficits of yet existing digital libraries and highlighting starting points of further research support.

Researching Knowledge Concerns in Virtual Historical Architecture

3D reconstructions have always been an important medium for teaching, illustrating and researching historical facts and items, especially architecture. Virtual representation is often created by cross-disciplinary workgroups, addressing a wide and heterogeneous audience. The authors investigated knowledge-related phenomena in four stages, using qualitative and quantitative research methods. The first stage focuses on the scope and overall relevance of virtual architecture within the field of digital heritage, and the second investigates phenomena related to the creation of virtual architectural representations. A third stage examines how skills and competencies for creating virtual architectural representations evolve during a project and whether teaching facilitates their development. Finally, a fourth stage evaluates how to design virtual building representations to make them comprehensible to a lay audience.

Research and Communication of Urban History in 4D Using Historical Photographs – A Status Report of the Research Group UrbanHistory4D

This contribution shows the work of the junior research group UrbanHistory4D within one year. It explains the different technical and educational approaches when working with media repositories composed of diverse historical data. The group covers technical aspects like photogrammetry, information sciences and Augmented Reality (AR) as well as humanistic topics like history of art, user case and educational studies. In detail, different photogrammetric techniques, various image repositories, a user case study and possibilities of knowledge transfer are evaluated. The main focus in the first year was the development of two prototype applications – a 4D browser interface and an AR application – supported by the different fields of studies. These applications are still refined considering the results of the varying research topics. As an outcome the contribution presents a part of the project organization which plays an important role when working in such interdisciplinary groups.

Image libraries and their scholarly use in the field of art and architectural history

AbstractThe use of image libraries in the field of art and architectural history has been the subject of numerous research studies over the years. However, since previous investigations have focused, primarily, either on user behavior or reviewed repositories, our aim is to bring together both approaches. Against this background, this paper identifies the main characteristics of research and information behavior of art and architectural history scholars and students in the UK and Germany and presents a structured overview of currently available scholarly image libraries. Finally, the implications for a user-centered design of information resources and, in particular, image libraries are provided.