Technical photography has long been a means to document the materials and condition of cultural h... more Technical photography has long been a means to document the materials and condition of cultural heritage. Through filter and illuminant selection, not only visible but also UV and IR light, as well as stimulated emission (fluorescence and phosphorescence), can be used in image documentation. In the heritage documentation context multi-and hyper-spectral imaging can be thought of as extensions to technical photography, but with respectively increasing degrees of resolution. Multispectral imaging typically uses several band pass filters or specific illumination to generate a stack of images, which if properly processed can yield a low resolution spectrum per unit region of the image. Hyperspectral imaging on the other hand typically employs an imaging spectrograph and camera such that high spectral and spatial resolution images where there can be hundreds of layers in the image cube and where each pixel contains a full spectrum. With recent advances in imaging as well as computing technology, technical photography is seeing a renaissance. New visualisation technologies such as Augmented-and Virtual Reality can help multi-and/ or hyper-spectral documentation find new applications in both management and conservation practices of cultural heritage objects and sites. Anchoring the archive physical space as a digital access point to research documentation This poster investigates the process and gains of using Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality to digitally dress a space in material obtained through both normal, Ultra Violet, and Infrared Radiation photography. By displaying a three-dimensional documentation of the portal, visitors and caretakers can see through the shingles and explore the portal and its relation to the rest of the structure without having to dismantle the wall. High resolution 3d-model of the portal behind the layer of wall shingles. The model was created from eighty high resolution photos using SfM. By displaying a three-dimensional documentation of the portal, visitors and caretakers can see through the shingles and explore the portal and its relation to the rest of the structure without having to dismantle the wall. The VR scene combined with the lens-setup allows the user to move around the virtual space and then at will bring up perfectly matched multispectral imagery of all parts of the chancel. The second prototype combines two full-room SfM-models of the chancel in a single Virtual Reality (VR) scene. The first of these models was photographed using normal light and constitutes the default view, while the second was photographed capturing IR light. After matching them to each other, an interface was created that lets the user bring up a virtual lens through which to view the IR-information from the second model. Conclusions By mapping visual data gathered through historical archive research and multi-spectral photography back onto the physical space of origin, or onto virtual copies, AR and VR are framed as contextualised windows through which both to archive and to access documentation. In this physical-digital hybrid space, the digital data of the documentation is given a physical context and the physical space is given a depth beyond normal light and current conditions. Rather than organising the material according to topic, archival and research data is mapped in relation to place in a three-dimensional space. AR and VR have the potential of being useful tools both for conservators and care takers. By organising archived data in a spatial manner, every detail of an object or environment could provide access to relevant archival records. When the physical space is dressed in digital material obtained through multispectral documentation, both the physical space and the documentation is contextualised. The material is thus resituated as a place-centric analytical layer accessible to care takers, conservation scientists, and the public alike, all while leaving the current state of the physical space free from obtrusive markings.
Technical photography has long been a means to document the materials and condition of cultural h... more Technical photography has long been a means to document the materials and condition of cultural heritage. Through filter and illuminant selection, not only visible but also UV and IR light, as well as stimulated emission (fluorescence and phosphorescence), can be used in image documentation. In the heritage documentation context multi-and hyper-spectral imaging can be thought of as extensions to technical photography, but with respectively increasing degrees of resolution. Multispectral imaging typically uses several band pass filters or specific illumination to generate a stack of images, which if properly processed can yield a low resolution spectrum per unit region of the image. Hyperspectral imaging on the other hand typically employs an imaging spectrograph and camera such that high spectral and spatial resolution images where there can be hundreds of layers in the image cube and where each pixel contains a full spectrum. With recent advances in imaging as well as computing technology, technical photography is seeing a renaissance. New visualisation technologies such as Augmented-and Virtual Reality can help multi-and/ or hyper-spectral documentation find new applications in both management and conservation practices of cultural heritage objects and sites. Anchoring the archive physical space as a digital access point to research documentation This poster investigates the process and gains of using Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality to digitally dress a space in material obtained through both normal, Ultra Violet, and Infrared Radiation photography. By displaying a three-dimensional documentation of the portal, visitors and caretakers can see through the shingles and explore the portal and its relation to the rest of the structure without having to dismantle the wall. High resolution 3d-model of the portal behind the layer of wall shingles. The model was created from eighty high resolution photos using SfM. By displaying a three-dimensional documentation of the portal, visitors and caretakers can see through the shingles and explore the portal and its relation to the rest of the structure without having to dismantle the wall. The VR scene combined with the lens-setup allows the user to move around the virtual space and then at will bring up perfectly matched multispectral imagery of all parts of the chancel. The second prototype combines two full-room SfM-models of the chancel in a single Virtual Reality (VR) scene. The first of these models was photographed using normal light and constitutes the default view, while the second was photographed capturing IR light. After matching them to each other, an interface was created that lets the user bring up a virtual lens through which to view the IR-information from the second model. Conclusions By mapping visual data gathered through historical archive research and multi-spectral photography back onto the physical space of origin, or onto virtual copies, AR and VR are framed as contextualised windows through which both to archive and to access documentation. In this physical-digital hybrid space, the digital data of the documentation is given a physical context and the physical space is given a depth beyond normal light and current conditions. Rather than organising the material according to topic, archival and research data is mapped in relation to place in a three-dimensional space. AR and VR have the potential of being useful tools both for conservators and care takers. By organising archived data in a spatial manner, every detail of an object or environment could provide access to relevant archival records. When the physical space is dressed in digital material obtained through multispectral documentation, both the physical space and the documentation is contextualised. The material is thus resituated as a place-centric analytical layer accessible to care takers, conservation scientists, and the public alike, all while leaving the current state of the physical space free from obtrusive markings.
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Conference Presentations by J. Westin