Special Issue Virtual Reality and Its Application in Cultural Heritage II

Recent advancements in VR technologies have provided new opportunities for cultural heritage organizations to attract, engage, and support end users more effectively by creating unprecedented interactive experiences that can scaffold user creativity, learning, collaboration, and entertainment. Several user studies have underpinned the necessity to further investigate and improve current approaches and practices related to the design, implementation, and evaluation of VR applications to fulfill the requirements of all involved stakeholders. One way to achieve this is through personalized VR user experiences that cater to the diverse characteristics and requirements of stakeholders.

The aim of this Special Issue is to attract leading researchers at the intersection of VR and cultural heritage to highlight the latest innovative developments in this field and discuss the underlying methods and approaches for designing, implementing, and evaluating VR experiences in the cultural heritage domain. We encourage the submission of papers that examine novel approaches that provide interesting theoretical and empirical contributions to this research theme, as well as future research suggestions. Accepted contributions will include theoretical considerations, experimental validation, and proof-of-concept applications.

More information:

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci/special_issues/vr_heritage_II

EuroMed 2020 Article

Recently, a co-authored conference paper was published at EuroMed 2020: Digital Heritage, Progress in Cultural Heritage: Documentation, Preservation, and Protection, sponsored by Springer. The paper is entitled “Look Behind You! – Using a Face Camera for Mobile Augmented Reality Odometry” and exploits the possibility of using the face cameras available in mobile devices for augmented reality tracking.

The paper proposes a prototype composed of iPhone and iPad devices and evaluates its contribution in two scenarios that current systems cannot handle. The results reveal the clear benefit of this approach for the cultural heritage, allowing it to operate in situations when users look up in the sky to see the roof of virtual buildings, or when they move closer to a white wall to perceive details of a virtual painting.

More information:

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-73043-7_18

CYENS - Thinker Maker Space Workshop

Today, there was a presentation of the new facilities and services of CYENS - Thinker Maker Space. CYENS is Cyprus’s Research and Innovation Centre of Excellence focusing on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies aiming to empower knowledge and technology transfer in the region. A joint venture between three public universities (University of Cyprus, Cyprus University of Technology, Open University of Cyprus), the Municipality of Nicosia, and two renowned international partners, Max Planck Institute for Informatics and University College London.

CYENS seeks a strong impact and constructive long-term relationships with stakeholders that belong in four categories: academia/universities, industry/businesses, governmental policy makers and the public/civil society. The creation of the Makerspace, Co-working Space and the rest of the facilities that foster the creation of new research-industry collaborations, start-ups and spin-offs at STOA will allow CYENS to achieve its goals. The aim of the Makerspace is to inspire the public to the opportunities offered by science, technology and entrepreneurship.

More information:

https://makerspace.cyens.org.cy/

Oldest 3D European Map

A freshly unearthed Bronze-Age stone may be the oldest three-dimensional map in Europe, researchers say. The 2m by 1.5m slab (5ft by 6.5ft), first uncovered in 1900, was found again in a cellar in a castle in France in 2014. Archaeologists who studied patterns engraved on the 4,000-year-old stone say they believe the markings are a map of an area in western Brittany. They say this makes the slab the oldest 3D map of a known area in Europe.

After analysing marks and engravings on the stone, the researchers suspected it could be a map. The presence of repeated motifs joined by lines on its surface suggested it depicted an area of Finistère. The researchers say the indentations are a 3D representation of the River Odet valley, while several lines appear to depict the area's river network. Geo-location revealed the territory represented on the slab bears an 80% accuracy to an area around a 18 mile-long stretch of the river.

More information:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56648055