Maria Theodoridou

Modeling and querying provenance by extending CIDOC CRM

This paper elaborates on the problem of modeling provenance for both physical and digital objects. In particular it discusses provenance according to OAIS (ISO 14721:2003) and how it relates with the conceptualization of CIDOC CRM ontology (ISO 21127:2006). Subsequently it introduces an extension of the CIDOC CRM ontology, able to capture the modeling and the query requirements regarding the provenance of digital objects. Over this extension the paper provides a number of indicative examples of modeling provenance in various domains. Subsequently, it introduces a number of indicative provenance query templates, and finally it describes an implementation using Semantic Web technologies.

A repository for 3D model production and interpretation in culture and beyond

In order to support the work of researchers in the production, processing and interpretation of complex digital objects and the dissemination of valuable and diverse information to a broad spectrum of audience there is need for an integrated high performance environment that will combine knowledge base features with content management and information retrieval (IR) technologies. In this paper we describe the design and implementation of an integrated repository to ingest, store, manipulate, and export 3D Models, their related digital objects and metadata and to enable efficient access, use, reuse and preservation of the information, ensuring referential and semantic integrity. The repository design is based on an integrated coherent conceptual schema that models complex metadata regarding provenance information, structured models, formats, compatibility of 3D models, historical events and real world objects. This repository is not implemented just to be a storage location for digital objects; it is meant to be a working integrated platform for distant users who participate in a process chain consisting of several steps. A first prototype, in the field of Cultural Heritage, has already been implemented in the context of 3D-COFORM project, an integrated research project funded by the European Communitys Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013, no 231809) and the results are satisfactory, proving the feasibility of the design decisions which are absolutely new, ambitious, and extraordinarily generic for e-science.

3D-centered media linking and semantic enrichment through integrated searching, browsing, viewing and annotating

The digitally documented world heritage is archived in databases or repositories, where collections of metadata, images, multimedia objects or nowadays even digital 3D artifacts can be stored and queried. Modeling and linking all this information is complex and involves refined categorizations and relations, which are usually accessed by either simplistic or overwhelmingly complex interfaces. Hence, finding the right level of abstraction for a general interface is very challenging. This becomes even more demanding, if in addition to collection exploration, semantic enrichment is required. This work focuses on the design and implementation of an integrated interface, in which four dedicated activities are combined and provided: i) flexible definition of relational queries, ii) browsing of multiple results and query refinement, iii) inspection and analysis of multimedia objects, and iv) building and enrichment of semantic relationships (data paths) between objects. This integrated interface can handle different kinds of multimedia objects, allowing for querying and annotating text, 2D images or 3D artifacts. We present the software design of this interface and the corresponding underlying model in the semantic network. This work is a general step toward interfacing to 3D Linked Open Data.

Semantically rich 3D documentation for the preservation of tangible heritage

Traditionally, 3D acquisition technologies have been used to record heritage artefacts and to support specific tasks such as conservation or provenance verification. These exercises are usually a one-off as the technology and resources required are cost intensive. However, there is a recent impetus on the creation of 3D collections to document heritage artefacts which are semantically enriched by using annotations. A requirement of these solutions is the ability to support several representations of a heritage artefact recorded through time. This paper will propose an infrastructure to systematically enrich 3D shapes in a collection by using propagated annotations. In addition, it will describe the mechanisms for annotating, propagating and structuring the annotations using the CIDOC-CRM ontology. The results of this research have the potential to support heritage organisations in making their semantically rich 3D content available to a wider audience of professionals.

On information organization in annotation systems

A rich semantic model of annotation is presented that distinguishes several annotation types, uses controlled vocabulary where appropriate, and supports multi-facetted characterization of documents, annotation of parts of documents as well as of entire documents, and annotation of document associations besides annotation of single documents. This model has served as the basis for implementing a powerful annotation system included in an advanced digital library system.

X3ML mapping framework for information integration in cultural heritage and beyond

The aggregation of heterogeneous data from different institutions in cultural heritage and e-science has the potential to create rich data resources useful for a range of different purposes, from research to education and public interests. In this paper, we present the X3ML framework, a framework for information integration that handles effectively and efficiently the steps involved in schema mapping, uniform resource identifier (URI) definition and generation, data transformation, provision and aggregation. The framework is based on the X3ML mapping definition language for describing both schema mappings and URI generation policies and has a lot of advantages when compared with other relevant frameworks. We describe the architecture of the framework as well as details on the various available components. Usability aspects are discussed and performance metrics are demonstrated. The high impact of our work is verified via the increasing number of international projects that adopt and use this framework.

A generic approach for generating cultural heritage metadata

Rich metadata is crucial for the documentation and retrieval of 3D datasets in cultural heritage. Generating metadata is expensive as it is a very time consuming semi-manual process. The exponential increase of digital assets requires novel approaches for the mass generation of metadata. We present an approach that is generic, minimizes user assistance, and is customizable for different metadata schemes and storage formats as it is based on generic forms. It scales well and was tested with a large database of digital CH objects.

3D-SYSTEK: Recording and exploiting the production workflow of 3D-models in Cultural Heritage

The diversity of contemporary technology on 3D-model digitizing and processing procedures necessitates the systematic documentation of all the involved activities. In this paper we present essential concepts and the infrastructure of 3D-SYSTEK (3DS), a system that supports the 3D-modelling provenance preservation in the Cultural Heritage (CH) domain. The proposed system provides an efficient repository and special tools for ingesting and browsing data, supporting the detailed and effective documentation. Specialists working on 3D-model production are able to record the production steps, keep track of their work and recall conditions and processing methods for reproduction. Additionally, CH scientists and researchers are able to browse, retrieve and annotate related CH data. Hence 3D-SYSTEK becomes a powerful tool in the area of 3D-model production, archiving and dissemination.

ARIADNE: A Research Infrastructure for Archaeology

Research e-infrastructures, digital archives, and data services have become important pillars of scientific enterprise that in recent decades have become ever more collaborative, distributed, and data intensive. The archaeological research community has been an early adopter of digital tools for data acquisition, organization, analysis, and presentation of research results of individual projects. However, the provision of e-infrastructure and services for data sharing, discovery, access, and (re)use have lagged behind. This situation is being addressed by ARIADNE, the Advanced Research Infrastructure for Archaeological Dataset Networking in Europe. This EU-funded network has developed an e-infrastructure that enables data providers to register and provide access to their resources (datasets, collections) through the ARIADNE data portal, facilitating discovery, access, and other services across the integrated resources. This article describes the current landscape of data repositories and services for archaeologists in Europe, and the issues that make interoperability between them difficult to realize. The results of the ARIADNE surveys on users’ expectations and requirements are also presented. The main section of the article describes the architecture of the e-infrastructure, core services (data registration, discovery, and access), and various other extant or experimental services. The ongoing evaluation of the data integration and services is also discussed. Finally, the article summarizes lessons learned and outlines the prospects for the wider engagement of the archaeological research community in the sharing of data through ARIADNE.

A Framework for Maintaining Provenance Information of Cultural Heritage 3D-models

The advances in 3D digitizing technology have found significant application in the Cultural Heritage domain. The systematic large-scale production of digital cultural objects, the diversity of the processes involved and the complexity of describing historical relationships among them imposes the need for innovative knowledge management to handle all the semantic information in order to monitor, manage and document the origins and derivation of digital products. Flexibility is also very important for the enrichment and sharing of the acquired knowledge. The latter can be exploited by all members of the Cultural Heritage scientific community who can take advantage of the recorded provenance information for evaluating the 3D representation, tracking reliability of production, detecting tolerance and accuracy in acquisition and processing phases, documenting digitisation techniques, studying evidence of historic and cultural events. In this paper we present a framework that supports the documentation, archiving and dissemination of data and metadata of 3D digital cultural heritage objects, enhancing the OAIS approach by permitting the ingest of all the involved data, not only the final result, during a workflow progress.