Studying Illumination and Cultural Heritage

An exclusively visual approach to the development of database applications is introduced. Graphical tools and techniques are designed to represent all components of an application system, and all phases of the development process. Data, constraints, queries, transactions and programs are all expressed graphically. Analysis, design, maintenance, and even inference are done using graphical techniques. The visual approach is expected to be most appropriate for end users, and it is likely to encourage end user participation in application development. >

The role of the archeological and cultural heritage sites in the process of urban regeneration in UNESCO’s protected areas becomes more and more important for the natural and cultural heritage protection in the touristic cities with urban expansion. However, there is no clear methodological approach for the inclusion of these important natural and cultural heritage sites in the process of urban regeneration of the cities. The purpose of this study is to analyze how two contemporary urban planning tools, sustainable urban mobility plans and heritage impact assessments, contribute to the protection and sustainable use of archeological sites. The methodology that is used in this study is dual, theoretical, through literature review, and empirical, through the appliance of the case study method and expert observation and mapping of the most valuable archeological sites in Boka Bay. The results of this study show that practical usage of the two proposed tools in the process of urban regeneration could help in cultural and natural heritage protection and their inclusion as drivers of sustainable urban planning and cultural heritage management. The results of the study confirm the authors’ hypothesis that the role of the archeological sites in the process of urban regeneration is evident in the touristic cities in the coastal area of Montenegro, concluding that urban mobility principles and heritage impact assessment studies must be considered in the process of urban regeneration while at the same time cultural (archeological) heritage management is an integral part of this process.

On-site heritage interpretation plays a vital role in cultural heritage sites in conveying the significance and multiple heritage values to the visitors. In an era where the world is transforming with innovative digital applications, the heritage sites are also being integrated with digital interpretation techniques to deliver a better interpretation and new dimensional experience to the visitors. Though multiple digital solutions are available, not all the techniques are appropriate, applicable and feasible to every site. Besides, neither proper worldwide principles nor framework has been exerted for these digital heritage interpretation developments. Therefore, this study is focused on building a generic conceptual framework to select the most appropriate digital interpretation technique(s) that fit the context of the heritage site, giving special reference to the six Cultural World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka. The relevant qualitative and quantitative data were gathered via in-depth interviews, field observation, literature survey and a visitor survey questionnaire. The main themes and sub-themes derived through the thematic analysis were adopted as the theoretical framework for the research to analyze the collected data of the six Cultural World Heritage Sites and the selected digital techniques. Based on the results, the study recommends appropriate digital techniques for each Cultural World Heritage Sites of the country. Further as aimed, the study presents a conceptual framework for on-site digital interpretation developments for cultural heritage sites by categorizing the 24 criteria derived for data analysis under five phases namely ‘Prepare’, ‘Assess’, ‘Design’, ‘Implement’ and ‘Sustain’.

Globalization has created new challenges and threats. The article identifies threats and challenges of globalization that have the most devastating effect on cultural and natural heritage. It analyzes efforts of the international community to minimize them. The article studies economic, foreign policy, environmental and cultural threats to the world cultural heritage. Heritage sites can be destroyed as a result of environmental and technological challenges, extremist movements and wars, uncontrolled urbanization, predatory exploitation of nature and cultural objects for commercial purposes, and rapid development of international tourism. All these factors have a negative impact on cultural and natural heritage sites. The problem of protection of natural and cultural heritage is of institutional and documentary nature. The UNESCO international organization deals with World Heritage issues, compiling a list of endangered objects of cultural and natural significance. It combines international efforts to preserve and popularize them because of their special cultural, historical or environmental significance. Damage or extinction of cultural objects is tragic for the world heritage. Due to new dangers, the entire international community must participate in the protection of the natural and cultural heritage sites. Problems that cause irreparable harm to the world heritage are due to human activities. It is necessary to develop measures that could be a response to the problems of cultural heritage protection in the context of globalization. It is necessary to make people respect cultural and natural heritage and inform them about dangers threatening cultural objects.

The purpose of this volume is to present current work of the Intelligent Computer Graphics community, a community growing up year after year. Indeed, if at the beginning of Computer Graphics the use of Artificial Intelligence techniques was quite unknown, more and more researchers all over the world are nowadays interested in intelligent techniques allowing substantial improvements of traditional Computer Graphics methods. The other main contribution of intelligent techniques in Computer Graphics is to allow invention of completely new methods, often based on automation of a lot of tasks assumed in the past by the user in an imprecise and (human) time consuming manner. This volume contains both invited and selected extended papers from the last 3IA Conference (3IA2008), together with an introduction presenting the area of Intelligent Computer Graphics and various Computer Graphics areas where introduction of intelligent techniques permitted to resolve important problems. We hope that this volume will be interesting for the reader and that it will convince him (her) to use, or to invent, intelligent techniques in Computer Graphics and, maybe, to join the Intelligent Computer Graphics community.

Bergama'da 1878 de Carl Humann tarafindan arkeolojik kazilarin baslatilmasi ve her gecen gun onemli buluntularin ortaya cikmasi kentin baskin olarak arkeolojik ozellikleriyle anilmasi­ni saglamis ve saglamaktadir. Ornegin 1968 yilina ait imar planinda arkeolo­jik alan uzerinde yer alan geleneksel kent do­kusunun dondurularak gelismesinin kisitlan­masi ve zamanla bu alanlarin bosaltilarak arke­olojik kazilara terk edilmesi ongorulmustur. Antikcag yapilarina verilen onem, diger taraf­tan geleneksel konutlarin muhafazasina do­layli olarak katkida bulunmus; geleneksel ko­nut dokusu altindaki antik kentin zarar gorme­mesi icin, var olan yapilasma dondurulmus; yeni yapilasmalar icin bu alanlar disinda, gele­neksel dokunun guneyinde yeni iskân alanlari acilmistir. 1976 tarihinde Bergama'nin alanlari ve sinirlari Gayrimenkul Eski Eserler ve Anitlar Yuksek Kurulunca (GEEAYK) tescil edilmistir. ilani kararini takiben, Berga­ma'nin antik Pergamon kentinin kalintilari uze­rinde gelismis belli alanlari, korunmasi gerekli kentsel dokuya sahip olmasi nedeniyle ve Arkeolojik olarak 1983 yilin­da tescil edilmis ve 1984'te tekrar degerlendi­rilmistir, Bergama gibi cok katmanli kentlerde, tanimi konana kadar gecen surede, kurullari tarafindan yanlis ka­rarlarin alinmasinin yani sira tereddutler, dola­yisiyla karar uretememe durumlari soz konu­su olmustur. Bu tikaniklik, SIT tanimindan 20 yil sonra 1993'te Kultur ve Tabiat Varliklari Koruma Yuksek Kurulunun ilke kararindaki tanimi ve ko­sullarinin belirlenmesiyle asilmistir. Bergama'da da koruma amacli imar planina kadar gecerli olacak gecis donemi yapilas­ma kosullari m belirleyen karar, ilanindan 18 yil sonra, 2001 yilinda kentin bu alanlarinin, Izmir 2 numarali Kultur ve Tabiat Varliklari Koruma Kurulunca Kentsel Arkeolo­jik olarak ilan edilmesiyle alinmistir. Bu karara gore Bergama kenti alanlari. Kent­sel SIT, 1. derece SIT, 2. derece ve 3. derece olarak tanimlanmistir. Bu kararlar sonucunda, alani icinde yer atan evler, onarim dahi yapilamayan, harap an­cak ozgun yapilar olarak gunumuze ulasmistir. Kentin guneyinde yeni yapilasma alanlarinin olusturulmasindan sonra, alani icindeki geleneksel dokuda, evlerini birakmak isteme­yen, apartman yasamina uyum saglayamayan ve eski komsuluk iliskilerini surdurmek iste­yen yasli nufus kalmistir. Bu geleneksel doku­nun diger kullanicilari ise civar koylerden gelip buraya yerlesen dusuk gelir grubuna ait kulla­nicilardir. kultur varliklari envanter calismasiyla kentte harap fakat ozgun olarak gunumuze ulasmis onemli sayida konut oldugu, pek cok konutun enderlik degeri tasidigi ortaya kon­mustur. Bergama (izmir) Kultur Varliklari En­vanter Projesinin ucuncu ve son donem calis­masi 6-17 Eylul 2005 tarihlerinde Bergama da gerceklestirilen alan calismasiyla tamamlan­mistir. Pek cok uygarligi iceren, cok katmanli bir kent olan Bergama'da, sinirlan ve tanimi, bu envanter calismasi­nin basladigi 2003 yilindaki degisiklikler disin­da, Mart 2004 te izmir 2 numarali Kultur ve Ta­biat Varliklari Koruma Kurulunda alinan kararla, Kentsel + 3. derece olarak degistirilmis ve sinin guneye, Gazipasa Mahal­lesine dogru genisletilmistir (lev. 1: sek. 1). Kultur Varliklarinin yer aldigi mahalle­ler, Bergama Cayinin kuzeyindeki alanda Ulu-cami, Talatpasa, Kurtulus mahalleleri, Berga­ma Cayinin guneyinde ise Selcuk, Barbaros, Atmaca, Islamsaray, Turabey, Inkilâp, Gazipa­sa, Ertugrul ve Zafer mahalleleridir. 2005 yilin­da, Bergama Cayinin kuzeyinde Talatpasa ve Kurtulus mahallelerinde, Bergama Cayinin gu­neyinde ise Selcuk, Atmaca, islamsaray, Tu­rabey, Inkilâp, Gazipasa, Ertugrul ve Zafer ma­hallelerinde envanter calismasi gerceklestiril­mistir (lev. 2: sek. 2). Bergama Kuttur Varliktan Envanteri yapilirken calisma alanimizin sinirlan (lev. 1: sek. 1), Kultur ve Tabiat Varliklari Koruma Ku­rulu tarafindan onaylanmis sinirlari disinda, eski yerlesim dokusunu gosteren belgelerden de yararlanilarak belir­lenmistir. Bergama'da 2005 yilinda. 2003 ve 2004 yilla­rinda gerceklestirilen alan calismalarinda oldu­gu gibi Bergama Cayinin iki yakasinda, iki ayri grup tarafindan catisma gerceklestirilmistir. 6-17 Eylul 2005 tarihleri arasinda 7 kisilik ekip­le toplam 100 yapi adasinda calisilmis, 713'u anit olmak uzere, 814 adet envanter formu hazirlanmistir. 102 yapinin plan krokisi yapil­mis, 4440 adet dijital fotograf cekilmistir. Boy­lece 2003 yilindan itibaren, uc yillik envanter calismasi sonucunda 160'i yerlesme, 1501'i anit envanteri olmak uzere, toplam 1661 adet envanter formu hazirlanmis, 390 adet plan krokisi yapilmis ve 9718 adet dijital fotograf cekilmistir. kultur varliktan envanter calismasin­da, konutlarin yapim tarihleri ve mimari ozel­likleri bir arada degerlendirildiginde Berga­ma'daki konut mimarisinin gelisim sureci or­taya cikmaktadir. 2005 yilina ait alan calisma­sinda, nitelikli ve korunmaya deger Cumhuri­yet devri konut yapilarinin, onceki yillarda cali­silan alanlardakinden daha yogun olarak yer aldigi saptanmistir. Geleneksel kent dokusunun yeni yapilasma alanlariyla birlestigi yerdeki yogun yok edilisi­ne bagli olarak, kultur varligi sayisi azaldigin­dan, Bergama kentsel kultur varliklari evanteri ongorulenden daha once tamamlanmis bu­lunmaktadir. Envanteri yapilan kultur varliklari sayisi, mevcut tescilli yapi sayisinin yaklasik uc katidir. Bergama kentsel kultur varliklari envanteri dogrultusunda, alanlarinin bo­yutlarinda ve niteliklerinde degisiklikler yapil­masi gerekecektir. 2003 yilinda baslayan Bergama kentsel kultur varliklari envanter calismasi 2004 yilinda de­vam etmis ve 2005 yilinda sonuclanmistir. En­vanterlerin Kultur-Kitap veritabanina aktaril­masi ise 2006 yilinda tamamlanmistir.

Feature Point (FP) detection is a fundamental step in computer vision tasks. Although FP detectors are mostly designed to support Low Dynamic Range (LDR) images as input, interest in High Dynamic Range (HDR) images has increased recently due to their higher precision to register overexposed and underexposed areas in an image. As the detection of FPs is strongly dependent on the illumination of the scene, HDR images have the potential to be more robust than LDR images during FP detection. Known FP detectors, however, do not use the full potential of HDR images. In addition, few works have evaluated the performance of HDR images in this context. In this paper, we propose a modification of FP detectors aiming to improve FP detection on HDR images. To this end, we design a local mask based on the Coefficient of Variation (CV) of sets of pixels, creating thus a new step in FP detection. We compare our approach with popular FP detection methods using a standard evaluation metric, Repeatability Rate (RR) of FPs, and also Uniformity as a proposed new criterion. A dataset of images from scenes affected by camera transformations and substantial illumination changes was used as input. Experimental results show that our proposed algorithms give better Uniformity and RR in most HDR images from the dataset when compared to standard FP detectors. Moreover, they indicate that HDR images present a great potential to be explored in applications that rely on FP detection.

High dynamic range (HDR) imaging is a technique that allows an extensive dynamic range of exposures, which is important in image processing, computer graphics, and computer vision. In recent years, there has been a significant advancement in HDR imaging using deep learning (DL). This study conducts a comprehensive and insightful survey and analysis of recent developments in deep HDR imaging methodologies. We hierarchically and structurally group existing deep HDR imaging methods into five categories based on (1) number/domain of input exposures, (2) number of learning tasks, (3) novel sensor data, (4) novel learning strategies, and (5) applications. Importantly, we provide a constructive discussion on each category regarding its potential and challenges. Moreover, we review some crucial aspects of deep HDR imaging, such as datasets and evaluation metrics. Finally, we highlight some open problems and point out future research directions.

Earthquakes are among the most destructive disasters worldwide, and they have had aserious impact on many civilizations and cultural heritage sites throughout history. Archaeological sites, in particular, are highly vulnerable to the effects of earthquakes, which could threaten their integrity. Turkey is a home to numerous important archaeological heritage sites, but as being one of the countries with a high earthquake risk, these sites are also at risk of earthquake damage. The recent earthquake that occurred on February 6, 2023, was one of the most significant earthquakes to hit Turkey. The affected region has a long history of cultural continuity, and its archaeological sites have also damaged from the earthquake. In this study, the effects of earthquakes on archaeological heritage sites are examined through open source data and it is aimed to evaluate the situation of archaeological heritage sites in the earthquake zone in the case of the February 06, 2023 Earthquakes.

Tone-mapping-operators (TMOs) provide a useful means for converting high dynamic range (HDR) images to low dynamic range (LDR) images so that they can be viewed on standard displays, but this may influence the visual quality of experience (QoE) of the end-user. There is a need to understand the impact of TMOs to inform the choice of TMO algorithms for different displays, especially for small-screen-devices (SSDs) such as those used in mobile phones. This is important, as mobile devices are becoming the primary means of consuming multimedia contents. However, few studies have been undertaken to assess the impact of TMOs and viewing devices (especially SSDs) on the visual QoE of the user when using. In this chapter, we evaluate subjectively and objectively, the commonly used TMOs in different displays and resolutions for colour and grey-scale HDR images. Our results show that viewing devices have an influence on the TMOs performance, suggesting the need for a careful choice of TMO to enhance the viewing-QoE of the end-user. As expected, the higher resolution, the better HDR-image quality. Surprisingly, there was no significant difference between the Mean of Opinion Score (MOS) scores for colour and grey-scale images in SSDs. The device and TMOs affect QoE for colour and grey HDR-image equally. We found Shannon entropy (SE) to be a good objective measure of quality for colour and grey HDR images, suggesting that entropy may find use in automated HDR quality control assessment schemes, while; HDR-VDP-2 is a good objective measure for colour HDR image only.

High dynamic range (HDR) images are becoming pervasive due to capturing or rendering of a wider range of luminance, but their special display equipment is difficult to be popularized because of high cost and technological problem. Thus, HDR images must be adapted to the conventional display devices by applying tone mapping (TM) operation, which puts forward higher requirements for intellectual property protection of HDR images. As the robustness presents regional diversity in the low dynamic range (LDR) watermarked image after TM, which is different from the traditional watermarking technologies, a concept of watermarking activity is defined and used to distinguish the essential distinction of watermarking between LDR image and HDR image in this paper. Then, a novel robust HDR image watermarking algorithm is proposed against TM operations. Firstly, based on the hybrid processing of redundant discrete wavelet transform and singular value decomposition, the watermark is embedded by modifying the structure information of the HDR image. Distinguished from LDR image watermarking, the high embedding strength can cause more obvious distortion in the high brightness regions of HDR image than the low brightness regions. Thus, a perceptual brightness mask with low complexity is designed to improve the imperceptibility further. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is robust to the existing TM operations, with taking into account the imperceptibility and embedded capacity, which is superior to the current state-of-art HDR image watermarking algorithms.

Recently, visual representations using high dynamic range (HDR) images become increasingly popular, with advancement of technologies for increasing the dynamic range of image. HDR image is expected to be used in wide-ranging applications such as digital cinema, digital photography and next generation broadcast, because of its high quality and its powerful expression ability. HDR imaging technologies will spread its sphere of influence in imaging industry. In this paper, we review the state-of-the-art studies and the trends of the HDR imaging, in terms of the following three points: (1) HDR imaging sensor and HDR image generation techniques as image acquisition technologies, (2) encode method of HDR images for efficient transmission and storage, (3) human visual system issues associated with reproduction of HDR image.

It is purpose of this paper to introduce and describe graphical tools and techniques for (technically oriented) life time data analysis. The aim of this analysis is the determination of a representative statistical parametric or non-parametric model reflecting ageing behaviour over time. The paper intends to demonstrate that a subjective data analysis by graphs can be more sensitive and informative than pure parameter estimation in a predefined model or application of test statistics. In this sense some of those graphical tools are discussed which provide a less formal goodness-of-fit approach analysing the adherence to or deviation from a hypothesized distribution shape in a graph. Various graphical tools will be described and compared concerning their specific advantages and restrictions for life time data analysis. Finally some examples will demonstrate a “combined graphical analysis approach”.

New developments in interactive computer graphics make it possible for mathematicians to approach old subjects in fresh ways. Occasionally the new approaches reveal additional insights into things already well understood from other viewpoints. This note give several examples of projects developed in collaboration with undergraduate students at Brown University in courses related to differential geometry. In each case, computer graphics techniques are used to investigate some geometric phenomenon, and in each case the difficulties encountered by the program reveal some feature of geometric interest.KeywordsComputer GraphicAlgebraic SurfaceProjection DirectionInteractive Computer GraphicQuartic SurfaceThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Abstract. The earthquakes that occurred in our country on February 6, 2023, significantly damaged and destroyed cultural and historical assets. The Habib-i Nejjar Mosque in Antakya and other important historical sites suffered significant damage. This study provides a comprehensive account of the post-earthquake efforts carried out by volunteers from various disciplines, including archaeology, cartography, space sciences, and architecture, using social media platforms. The volunteers created an extensive database for cultural and archaeological sites in all 11 provinces that were declared disaster zones. This database made it easier to conduct a thorough evaluation of the damage. The database was augmented with surface displacement data, enabling an analysis of damage levels with the exactitude facilitated by the gathered information. The utilization of the Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis (ARIA) maps was pivotal in this study. The maps, created through partnerships between NASA and different space agencies, offer intricate satellite imagery and analysis of surface displacement. This is essential for evaluating the effects of earthquakes on cultural heritage sites. The utilization of ARIA maps in this study facilitated an accurate assessment of the seismic impact on cultural and historical resources. Additionally, Sentinel 1 images are used to generate displacement maps with the use of the LICSAR tool and the SBAS method. The study examined the state of about 1500 cultural heritage sites in 11 provinces in the aftermath of the earthquake. The report incorporated data from media coverage and input from relevant parties present at the scene, providing a thorough assessment of the situation following the disaster. For instance, the research revealed substantial shifts at prominent locations, like the UNESCO World Heritage site of Arslantepe in Malatya. This site experienced a displacement of over one meter towards the south and 75 cm towards the west, along with a subsidence of approximately 10 cm in the surrounding area. Furthermore, the study presented a visual representation that depicted the quantity of impaired cultural heritage sites in every province, providing a comprehensive evaluation of the impacted cultural and archaeological resources. This comprehensive strategy not only emphasized the magnitude of harm to cultural heritage but also emphasized the significance of interdisciplinary cooperation in disaster response and heritage preservation.