Paolo Clini

Advanced Interaction with Paintings by Augmented Reality and High Resolution Visualization: A Real Case Exhibition

In this paper, an interactive installation system for the enjoyment of the cultural heritage in a real case museum environment is presented. By using Augmented Reality technology, mobile application and High Resolution visualization we provide the users with a visual augmentation of their surroundings and a touch interaction technique to display digital contents for cultural heritage promotion, allowing museum visitors to interact with digital contents in an intuitive and exciting manner. The exhibition here presented is the result of previous research over the use of new technologies e.g. Augmented Reality for Cultural Heritage promotion. Descriptions of the hardware system component and software development details are presented, with particular focus over the application implementation. Furthermore, we outline a possible Multimedia AR Installation connected with a semantic network.

Remote Touch Interaction with High Quality Models Using an Autostereoscopic 3D Display

The use of 3D models to document archaeological findings witnessed to boost in the latest years, mainly thanks to the large adoption of digital photogrammetry for the virtual reconstruction of ancient artifatcs. For this reason, the widespread availability of digital 3D objects obliges the research community to face with a hard challenge: which is the best way for allowing visitors being in contact with the real estate of cultural goods? The work described in these pages answers to these questions by describing a novel solution for the enhanced interaction and visualization of a complex 3D model. The installation consists in an autostereoscopic display paired with a remotely connected (with a wired connection) touch-pad for the interaction with the contents displayed in it. The main advantage of using such technology is represented by the fact that one is not obliged to wear cumbersome devices but at the same time one can have a 3D view of the object without any additional aid. The system allows, through a touch-pad, to manage the 3D views and interact with a very small object that in its virtual dimension is magnified with respect to a classical museum arrangement. The research results, applied to the real case exhibition presented, have proved the innovation and usability of the multimedia solutions, which required the use of complex hardware components and a tricky implementation of the whole software architecture. The digital disruption in the CH domain should be also entrusted in the use of advanced interfaces that at the same time are intuitive and usable interaction methods.

Improving the Development of AR Application for Artwork Collections with Standard Data Layer

Museums and art galleries are called to preserve and promote their collections. Mobile technologies like Augmented Reality would transform visitors from passive observers to protagonists, creating engaging and personal art experience for the audience. However, the hurdles preventing Augmented Reality from becoming a widespread medium to convey virtual information about the Cultural Heritage, lies in the limitations in adopting fast and agile tools of development. The paper presents an ongoing research, aimed at the creation of a framework to serialize the development of Augmented Reality application, based on a standard data layer. The core of the application is designed to augment artworks, while the standardization of data will permit a fast multi-app development. This framework is useful to bridge the gap between designers and developers, and will facilitate a semi-automatic development of Augmented Reality applications for Cultural Institutions.