IMEKO Event Proceedings Search

   

Page 12 of 977 Results 111 - 120 of 9762

Paolino Trapani, Eleonora Pappalardo, Anna M. Gueli, Filippo Stanco
Towards an Operational Protocol for Virtual Tours in Complex Cultural Sites: The Norman Castle of Aci Castello

This paper proposes a structured and replicable protocol for the development of virtual tours in hybrid heritage sites, where indoor and outdoor environments co-exist and present specific challenges for documentation and interpretation. Drawing on a pilot project at the Norman Castle of Aci Castello (Sicily, Italy), the methodology integrates photospheric acquisition (Matterport Pro2), photogrammetry, and multimedia storytelling within a topographically inspired navigation model. The digital experience was further enhanced through the use of third-party software (3DVista), enabling improved interaction, media layering, and accessibility. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of a hybrid workflow in reconstructing spatial continuity, articulating historical complexity, and supporting inclusive engagement. Although user testing is ongoing, the protocol offers a transferable framework for the valorization of other large and mid-sized archaeological and architectural sites, contributing to the broader discourse on sustainable digital heritage practices.

Francesco Colace, Constanza Fiorella Duarte Petti, Angelo Lorusso, Michele Pellegrino, Domenico Santaniello
Mobile games for the Revival of Archeological Parks in Campania: A Pilot Experience Bridging Virtual Environments and Cultural Heritage

Italy’s archaeological heritage is extraordinarily rich and widespread, yet its valorization is often inconsistent. Many sites with high historical and cultural value remain on the margins of public engagement due to limited resources and poor visibility. A striking example is Longola archaeological park da Poggiomarino whose historical relevance remains largely underexplored. This work proposes the development of an educational mobile video game designed to enhance knowledge and appreciation of the site through an interactive experience primarily intended for children. The prototype is structured as an infinite runner and step-by-step construction game, where players explore the culture of this long-lost village by following a storyline built with educational storytelling techniques. The system architecture integrates accurate historical content to foster active engagement, learning, and historical empathy. The game is designed to extend beyond the digital experience, encouraging children to continue the adventure through an on-site visit, where they can interact in real life with what they learned in the video game. The overall goal is to offer an effective tool for heritage education in both school and museum settings by promoting a model that motivates users to physically engage with lesser-known archaeological parks, leveraging the potential of digital technologies and game-based dynamics. A preliminary experimental phase will assess the usability and educational impact of the prototype.

Gizealew Alazie Dagnaw, Henry Muccini
Federated Digital Twins and XR for Cultural Heritage: A Collaborative Framework

Complex visitor flows, architectural constraints, and data privacy concerns increasingly challenge emergency evacuation planning in cultural heritage sites. This study presents a novel Federated Digital Twin framework integrated with Extended Reality technologies to enhance safety and coordination during emergencies across multiple museums. The federated digital twin leverages federated learning to enable decentralized, privacy-preserving simulation and decision-making without sharing sensitive visitor or infrastructure data. Extended Reality technologies provide immersive, real-time guidance for visitors, including adaptive evacuation routes and scenario-based drills. This approach facilitates cross-institutional collaboration, supports dynamic risk assessment, and ensures responsive evacuation strategies tailored to each museum’s layout and visitor profile. By combining predictive modeling with real-time Extended Reality-assisted feedback, the framework improves evacuation efficiency, reduces bottlenecks, and improves general visitor safety during emergencies.

Attilio Della Greca, Ilaria Amaro, Giovanni Nocerino, Paola Barra
Cultural Heritage visualization through Generative AI: a Unity-based plugin for real-time 3D object creation

This work introduces a plugin developed for Unity based on generative artificial intelligence (GAI), designed for the real-time creation of 3D objects from textual descriptions, for the preservation and digitization of cultural heritage. The proposed solution aims to overcome the limitations of current extended reality (XR) techniques, reducing production times and costs, and offering an alternative accessible even to nonexpert users. The system is divided into three main phases: object definition, generation via multimodal AI pipeline and integration into the virtual environment. Preliminary tests demonstrate the plugin’s ability to generate coherent, visually detailed and ready-to-use resources in immersive contexts. This approach promotes new ways of participatory fruition of heritage, encouraging interaction, accessibility and customization of digital cultural experiences.

Salvatore Barba, Alessandro Di Benedetto, Margherita Fiani
Gradient-Based Analysis of Vertical Displacements in Urban 3D LiDAR Models Using SAR Data

This study proposes a method for integrating SAR interferometric data, provided by the European Ground Motion Service (EGMS) under the Copernicus program, with simplified three-dimensional models obtained by combining Regional Topographic Databases (RTDB) and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data. Historic buildings are represented within the Google Earth 3D environment and classified according to the gradient of vertical displacement velocities calculated from the SAR data. This combination enables not only an immersive and interactive visualization but also a dynamic interpretation of structural changes over time. The historic center of the Municipality of Salerno serves as the test area for the proposed approach. This method offers a simple yet effective tool for monitoring and managing built heritage, making complex analyses more accessible through user-friendly platforms.

Fabrizio Barone, Salvatore Antonio Fornaro, Armando Di Maio, Marco Casazza
The Roman Bridge on the Savuto River: understanding its dynamical structural behavior through the adaptive DFEM method

The valorization of heritage structures requires a multidisciplinary approach based on effective models, seen as epistemic tools that empower both scientists and heritage managers in understanding, contextualizing and interpreting the value of the historical structure as a characteristic element of local identity (genius loci). This vision goes well beyond classic structural behavior and health assessment, since it implies a different approach and the application of metrological knowledge in models’ development. This is the case of our innovative hybrid approach, the Dynamic Finite Element Modeling (DFEM) metrological procedure, consisting in the evolutive optimization of a classic Finite Element Model tailored on the measurements of a high-quality monitoring system. The application of this procedure to the Roman bridge on the Savuto River (Altilia-Scigliano municipalities, Calabria Region, Italy) shows its remarkable power not only in simulating the dynamic behavior of the bridge, but also in providing useful hints on the construction techniques.

Claudio Guarnaccia, Aurora Mascolo, Domenico Rossi
A Case Study of Road Traffic Noise Intrusion Simulation in an Italian Archaeological Site

This study investigates the impact of road traffic noise on the acoustic environment of a culturally significant archaeological site in Nocera Superiore, Italy. Using the open-source NoiseModelling tool, simulations were conducted to assess sound levels near key landmarks, including the Early Christian Baptistery of Santa Maria Maggiore and the urban archaeological park. Results show that current noise levels exceed regulatory thresholds for protected areas, despite partial compliance with limits for high-traffic zones. Two mitigation strategies—introducing one-way traffic and banning heavy vehicles—were simulated and shown to reduce noise by 3–4 dBA, though not sufficiently to meet Class I or II standards. The findings highlight the inadequacy of current acoustic zoning and underscore the need for integrated noise management strategies to preserve the soundscape and cultural value of archaeological sites embedded in urban contexts.

Fabrizio Barone, Rosa Fiorillo, Marco Casazza
The Sound Emission of the Bell Tower of the Salerno Cathedral in Medieval Europe between Architectural Structure and Bell Construction Techniques

This study aims at understanding the intangible design principles that may have directed the design and construction of the Bell Tower of the Salerno Cathedral. The starting point is the hypothesis, already well demonstrated in previous papers, that this bell tower is one the key source elements of a largely distributed network of communication and government of the territory based on the acoustic transmission of information, relying on sources and repeaters (bells towers of monasteries, churches, towers and castles), synergically coordinated by Normans and Benedictines. In particular, the study focuses on the top part of the Bell Tower, the turret, that housed the bells during the Norman period. The results demonstrate that the turret behaves as an acoustic resonator matched to the bell’s sound emission, to maximize and concentrate the acoustic emission in defined directions, changing the vision on the level of acoustic knowledge and the quality of implementations in the Norman period.

Rosa Fiorillo, Marco Casazza, Fabrizio Barone
Vibroacoustic landscape and defensive network: metrology for the characterization of potential communication systems in Medieval Basilicata until the Longobard-Norman transition

This study investigates the spatial distribution of medieval fortifications in the Province of Potenza (Italy) to assess whether their placement responded to the need of local defense or to a more general strategic need. A spectral attenuation model for bell sounds was implemented in MATLAB to calculate maximum audible distances under realistic environmental conditions. Combined with a GIS-based analysis of intervisibility, acoustic buffers, and proximity to Roman roads, the results show that very few sites are either visible or acoustically reachable from one another. Instead, most fortifications are located within walkable distances from ancient roads, supporting the hypothesis that they were positioned for local territorial control, rather than interconnection. The study demonstrates how metrological tools from acoustics can be effectively adapted for cultural heritage applications, providing reproducible and quantitative support for archaeological interpretation. The approach contributes to a growing body of vibroacoustic landscape studies, exploring how sound may have shaped the organization of power in medieval southern Italy.

Fabrizio Barone, Marco Casazza
Minimization of environmental acoustic effects: an intangible design element of Greek theatres

This study aims at unveiling intangible design principles that may have directed positioning and construction of the classic Greek theatres, whose exceptional acoustic quality is still recognized nowadays. The attention is focused on the possible general design solutions adopted by Greek builders to minimize the acoustic background noise generated by the interaction between the theatre structure and the environment. For this task, a simplified vibroacoustic metrological model has been developed to infer the effects of the interaction between local environmental factors (e.g. the orography) and ancient Greek theatre structures. The model has been used to characterize the Greek theatre of Taormina to show, on a metrological basis, the key intangible elements that could have directed its design and construction.

Page 12 of 977 Results 111 - 120 of 9762