Page 167 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report

Athens ParthenonWe nd very interesting cases of 3D virtual reconstruction in real time at archaeological sites such as the Athens Acropolis. The Greek company Moptil (Mobile Optical Illusions)195 was entrusted with developing an app for mobile devices that visitors to a particular site can use as an educational resource. In the case of Ath- ens, the application, called Acroptilis, consists of a virtual reconstruction of the ancient Acropolis based on archaeological studies and o ers a comprehensive view of the buildings and original polychrome decoration, allowing visitors to explore the complex as it was in the fth century BC using movement sensors and the device’s orientation. It is possible to zoom into the virtual models for a close-up view of the architectural details of each construction and to go inside these spaces, which recreate the areas devoted to the cult of each of the gods. The application is used in other sites of ancient Greece such as Knossos, Olympia and Lindos, and during 2017 it will be extended to other places like Delphi and the Asclepeion of Kos [online resource - video].196Casa BatllóWe nd one of the most signi cant examplesof the use of augmented and virtual reality ina unique landmark building, the Casa Batlló in Barcelona: a videoguide197 for mobile devices that provides exceptionally thorough information about Antonio Gaudí’s architecture. Available for visitors since 2014 in as many as ten languages, the video guide was developed by the ARTE research group198 belonging to the Universityof Valencia’s Institute of Robotics, which has further experience in the sector.During the tour of the house, visitors go backin time as a virtual reconstruction shows the original furniture that once decorated the various rooms, such as those of the famous main oor, and the stages of construction on a model of the building today, which they will experience during the visit by means of augmented realitytechnology. The videoguide also includes ani- mations of the many organic and plant forms characteristic of Gaudí’s architecture, which come to life on the screen of their mobile de- vices, revealing the brilliant architect’s sources of inspiration [online resource - video].1992.3.3 Augmented realityAugmented reality is a digital technology thathas made a huge impact on the heritage eld, as pointed out in the section on conservation, but perhaps where it has achieved greatest success and is being applied the most is in the interpreta- tion and dissemination of heritage. Augmented reality o ers signi cant novelties and is one of the most fruitful areas of experimentation in combination with three-dimensional virtual recon- structions based on photogrammetric techniques and 3D laser scanning. This technology makesit possible to view the earlier appearance of an object or building and discover what a no longer extant work or elements would have looked like by producing a copy or virtual recreation.The potential of augmented reality to interpret heritage has early precedents in the eld of archaeology: the experiences of Archeoguide (Vlahakis et al., 2002)200 at Olympia (Greece) and Lifeplus201 (Papagiannakis et al., 2002) at Pompeii (Italy), which demonstrated the possibilities and versatility of this technology. Historic heritage was also represented in the iTacitus project (Stricker et al., 2010),202 which had as its test-case scenario the Royal Palace of Venaria (Turin, Italy). These early experiments stemmed from an interest in augmented reality as an interpretive resource for recovering parts of the past.This interest has grown exponentially in recent years, giving rise to a broad spectrum of possible uses of this new technology in the eld owing to its ability to combine the virtual and real worlds.Its versatility is due to its use in conjunction with portable devices, as a result of which the screenAC/E DIGITAL CULTURE ANNUAL REPORT 2017167The use of digital technologies in the conservation, analysis and dissemination of cultural heritage