As to the development of 3D technology it should be noted that virtual walks have become an important factor to learn about history and culture of one’s own country. The 3D technologies provide a realistic way for more complete representation of architectural sites, museums and galleries in the digital space. For this reason 3D model presentation should include the necessary information so that the users get the same knowledge as if they would have actually visited the site.

This project focuses on the following objectives and tasks:

  • To show the possibilities of the virtual and added reality through the so defined mixed reality in training and promotion of historical-cultural heritage for the benefits of the users. The presentation of the cultural and historical heritage based on the Augmented Reality (AR) technology will enable visitors to interact with the content in an intuitive and exciting way. It is a technology that expands the perceived reality at the expense of complementing the visible and tangible world with digital information in real-time.
  • Develop new learning opportunities for the students by creating virtual sites of historical-cultural heritage. A real 3D model of the ancient town of Skaptopara will be created within the project.

Within the framework of the project, for the first time, an opportunity will be presented for the application of mixed reality and Virtual Social Networks in the training for the purposes of historical-cultural heritage. This methodology is popular in the leading universities worldwide such as Prince, Harvard, Duke, etc. They create virtual affiliates and museums in which their students can attend lecture virtually. Individual virtual objects will be also shown.

Approaches to achieving set goals

In this project we will use two main technologies for generating 3D information – photopanormas and three-dimensional virtual models will be used in the project. The first approach can be fulfilled only on real objects, while the second one allows the application of nonexisting ones.

Our intention and approach are to create an ancient city and includes a repository of procedural rules that generate the basic typologies of buildings for modeling Greek and Roman cities.

During the implementation of this project, a workflow wil be generated on the bases of the Roman graphic schedule. The main challenge of this workflow is to integrate empirical data with procedural methods. The application of a generic description of the Roman temple will of the actually excavated temple site points at the Roman Forum, and shows some trends in which such generalizations are insufficient. Therefore, procedural rules, which rarely exist for a long time in a static state and become rewritten continuously when new parameters arise. This process of writing and rewriting of procedural rules is likely to lead the research to the discovery of elements that could be unexpectedly linked and therefore could be further systematized.

Research methods and techniques:

  • A bibliographic study of traditional and electronic sources related to proposed approach is envisaged. As a result a comprehensive picture of the degree of scientific and societal interpretation for conservation and socialization of cultural heritage through modern information technologies will be achieved.
  • A survey with students from two universities entolled in specialties related to cultural heritage will be conducted. The aim will be to get information about the level of knowledge of the capabilities of modern technologies in the training process.
  • The “traditional” modeling model is based on polygon or on NURBS modeling. Multi-angle mesh modeling is perhaps the most common form of 3D software and it is represented by popular software systems such as 3ds Max and SketchUp. Polygon modeling retrieves a 3D shape from primitive geometric shapes that scale, rotate, and transform.