Archaeological practice within the European context of heritage management is facing huge challenges in ways of recording and reproduction of ex-situ preserved sites. As a consequence of the Valletta-treaty, numbers of archived images and drawings of excavated structures as prime sources of past human activity, are exponentially growing. Contrarily to portable remains however, their future study and revision is biased by the two-dimensional character of the recorded data, rendering difficult their future reconstruction for new study or public dissemination. A more realistic three-dimensional (3D) way of recording and archiving should be pursued. In this paper the possibilities for 3D registration of archaeological features are examined in a computer vision-based approach using the PhotoScan software package (Agisoft LCC). It proved to be a scientific and cost-effective improvement compared to traditional documentation methods. Advantages can be found in the high accuracy and straightforwardness of the methodology. The extraction of an orthophoto or a Digital Terrain Model from the 3D model makes it feasible to integrate detailed and accurate information into the digital archaeological excavation plan. The visual character of 3D surface modeling offers enhanced output-possibilities allowing a better documentation of in-situ structures for future research and a higher public participation and awareness for the archaeological heritage."

Increased demand for tools that allow merging of Building Information Models with GIS models is observed in the last several years. Professionals from both domains are looking for solutions to seamlessly integrate such models for various purposes such as, building and construction analysis, urban planning, tourism, cadastre, homeland security, etc. Researchers suggested that the best approach for such integration is harmonised semantics, which will allow formal mappings between the design (BIM) and real world (GIS) models. Although many geometric models have been developed in both domains, the number of semantic models is relatively few. Two most prominent semantic models in the design and real worlds are currently IFC and CityGML. Several studies demonstrate the transfer of information from IFC models into the CityGML but the literature is lacking a formal and descriptive framework for automatic generation of buildings in CityGML using the IFC models. This paper presents preliminary ideas for defining a semantic mapping, which will allow automatic transformations between the two models.

3D models derived from point clouds are useful in various shapes to optimize the trade-off between precision and geometric complexity. They are defined at different granularity levels according to each indoor situation. In this article, we present an integrated 3D semantic reconstruction framework that leverages segmented point cloud data and domain ontologies. Our approach follows a part-to-whole conception which models a point cloud in parametric elements usable per instance and aggregated to obtain a global 3D model. We first extract analytic features, object relationships and contextual information to permit better object characterization. Then, we propose a multi-representation modelling mechanism augmented by automatic recognition and fitting from the 3D library ModelNet10 to provide the best candidates for several 3D scans of furniture. Finally, we combine every element to obtain a consistent indoor hybrid 3D model. The method allows a wide range of applications from interior navigation to virtual stores.

Development and virtual representation of 3D models of Cultural Heritage (CH) objects has triggered great interest over the past decade. The main reason for this is the rapid development in the fields of photogrammetry and remote sensing, laser scanning, and computer vision. The advantages of using 3D models for restoration, preservation, and documentation of valuable historical and architectural objects have been numerously demonstrated by scientists in the field. Moreover, 3D model visualization in virtual reality has been recognized as an efficient, fast, and easy way of representing a variety of objects worldwide for present-day users, who have stringent requirements and high expectations. However, the main focus of recent research is the visual, geometric, and textural characteristics of a single concrete object, while integration of large numbers of models with additional information—such as historical overview, detailed description, and location—are missing. Such integrated information can be beneficial, not only for tourism but also for accurate documentation. For that reason, we demonstrate in this paper an integration of high-resolution spherical panoramas, a variety of maps, GNSS, sound, video, and text information for representation of numerous cultural heritage objects. These are then displayed in a web-based portal with an intuitive interface. The users have the opportunity to choose freely from the provided information, and decide for themselves what is interesting to visit. Based on the created web application, we provide suggestions and guidelines for similar studies. We selected objects, which are located in Bulgaria—a country with thousands of years of history and cultural heritage dating back to ancient civilizations. The methods used in this research are applicable for any type of spherical or cylindrical images and can be easily followed and applied in various domains. After a visual and metric assessment of the panoramas and the evaluation of the web-portal, we conclude that this novel approach is a very effective, fast, informative, and accurate way to present, disseminate, and document cultural heritage objects.

Advanced data capture techniques, cost-effective data processing, and visualization technologies provide viable solutions for the documentation and curation of archaeological heritage and material culture. Work at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Çatalhöyük has demonstrated that new digital approaches for capturing, processing, analyzing, and curating stratigraphic data in 3D are now feasible. Real-time visualization engines allow us to simulate the stratigraphy of a site, the three-dimensional surfaces of ancient buildings, as well as the ever-changing morphology of cultural landscapes. Nonetheless, more work needs to be done to address methodological questions such as: can three-dimensional models and stratigraphic relationships, based on 3D surfaces and volumes, be used to perform archaeological interpretation? How can a 3D virtual scenario become the interface to cultural data and metadata stored in external online databases? How can we foster a sense of presence and user embodiment in the simulation of ancient cities and archaeological sites? This article aims to provide viable solutions to the methodological challenge of designing a comprehensive digital archaeological workflow from the data acquisition and interpretation in the field to a three-dimensional digital data curation based on interactive visualization, searchable 3D data, and virtual environments. This work describes the results we achieved developing the application Dig@IT, a multi-platform, scalable virtual reality tool able to foster archaeological data analysis, interpretation, and curation in a realistic and highly-interactive virtual environment.

The use of 3D visualization technologies has increased rapidly in many applied fields, including geovisualization, and has been researched from many different perspectives. However, the findings for the benefits of 3D visualization, especially in stereoscopic 3D forms, remain inconclusive and disputed. Stereoscopic "real" 3D visualization was proposed as encouraging the visual perception of shapes and volume of displayed content yet criti-cised as problematic and limited in a number of ways, particularly in visual discomfort and increased response time in tasks. In order to assess the potential of real 3D visualization for geo-applications, 91 participants were engaged in this study to work with digital terrain models in different 3D settings. The researchers examined the effectivity of stereoscopic real 3D visualization compared to monoscopic 3D (or pseudo 3D) visualization under static and interactive conditions and applied three tasks with experimental stimuli representing different geo-related phenomena, i.e. objects in the terrain, flat areas marked in the terrain and terrain elevation profiles. The authors explored the significant effects of real 3D visualization and interactivity factors in terms of response time and correctness. Researchers observed that the option to interact (t =-10.849, p < 0.001) with a virtual terrain and its depiction with real 3D visualization (t = 4.64, p < 0.001) extended the participants' response times. Counterintuitively, the data demonstrated that the static condition increased response cor-rectness (z = 5.38, p < 0.001). Regarding detailed analysis of data, an interactivity factor was proposed as a potential substitute for real 3D visualization in 3D geographical tasks.

There is a need in the humanities for a 3D WebGIS with analytical tools that allow researchers to analyze 3D models linked to spatially referenced data. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allow for complex spatial analysis of
2.5D data. For example, they offer bird’s eye views of landscapes with extruded building footprints, but one cannot ‘get on the ground’ and interact with true 3D models from a pedestrian perspective. Meanwhile, 3D models and virtual environments visualize data in 3D space, but analytical tools are simple rotation or lighting effects. The MayaArch3D Project is developing a 3D WebGIS—called QueryArch3D—to allow these two distinct approaches to ‘talk to each other’ for studies of architecture and landscapes—in this case, the eighth-century Maya
kingdom of Copan, Honduras. With this tool, researchers can search and query, in real time via a virtual reality (VR) environment, segmented 3D models of multiple resolutions (as well as computer-assisted design and realitybased)
that are linked to attribute data stored in a spatial database. Beta tests indicate that this tool can assist researchers in expanding questions and developing new analytical methods in humanities research. This article summarizes the
results of a pilot project that started in 2009, with an art historian and an archaeologist’s collaborative research on the ancient Maya kingdom and UNESCO World Heritage site of Copan in Honduras—called MayaArch3D. The project researches innovative approaches to integrate GIS, 3D digital models, and VR environments online for teaching and research on ancient architecture and landscapes. It has grown into an international, interdisciplinary project that brings together art historians, archaeologists, and cultural resource managers with experts in remote sensing, photogrammetry, 3D modeling, and VR. The Start Up Phase was funded by two National Endowment for the Humanities, Digital Humanities Start-Up grants to the University of New Mexico (PI: Jennifer von Schwerin) and developed and beta tested a pipeline and prototype 3D WebGIS— called QueryArch3D. The prototype version is available at http://mayaarch3d.org/ project-history/). Project results indicate that it is possible to bridge the gap between 3D and GIS to create a resource for researchers of Maya architecture to compare and analyze 3D models and archaeological data in the context of a geographically referenced, VR landscape.

Recent advances in recording equipment, software solutions and intra-site applications have supported the widespread integration of 3D spatial technologies within archaeological fieldwork. However, the heavy dependence on digital technology to organize excavation research does not come without costs, especially in the case of long-term excavation projects that have employed 3D documentation procedures and need to use, maintain and preserve their 3D archives. This work revisits the digital data collection of the excavation project in Paliambela Kolindros, Greece, which provided one of the first working examples regarding a full 3D workflow in excavation recording and interpretative reasoning. As part of our attempt to integrate part of the 3D excavation archive in the ARIADNEplus infrastructure and with the intention to build up its informational capacity, the article reviews the entire methodology and identifies cases where data reassessment or reprocessing activities link directly to digital knowledge production practices. Based on our experience, we discuss the possibility of regarding the excavation event as a historically situated conversion into an archive to be further transformed and perpetually re-interpreted in the digital continuum. By stressing the dependence of archaeological knowledge work to digital data provenance and transparent data curation practices, we have a chance to both harness the benefits of 3D GIS and improve data preservation chances.

The aim of the present work is to introduce an innovative framework for employing 3D-GIS as an exploratory platform to perform visual analysis. Such a methodology is aimed at detecting patterns of visibility to simulate the past human perception of specific categories of artifacts placed inside a virtually reconstructed three-dimensional space. As a case study, the house of Caecilius Iucundus in Pompeii (regio V, insula 1, entrances 23 and 26) was chosen and two media of visual communication, a painting and a graffito were tested to make an assessment of their visual impact on hypothetical observers. The approach consists of a vector-based line-of-sight (LOS) analysis, now available as an integral component of the 3D-analyst toolkit of the ESRI ArcGIS 10.x software package. This toolkit allowed us to perform the entire process inside a GIS environment, without splitting the tasks among different software platforms.
It was thus possible to detect a significant difference in terms of visibility among the observed objects.

The rise of urban Big Data has made it possible to use demand data at an operational level, which is necessary to directly measure the economic welfare of operational strategies and events. GIS is the primary visualization tool in this regard, but most current methods are based on scalar objects that lack directionality and rate of change - key attributes of travel. The few studies that do consider field-based time geography have largely looked at vector fields for individuals, not populations. A population-based vector field is proposed for visualizing time-geographic demand momentum. The field is estimated using a vector kernel density generated from observed trajectories of a sample population. By representing transport systems as vector fields that share the same time-space domain, demand can be
projected onto the systems to visualize relationships between them. This visualization tool offers a powerful approach to visually correlate changes in the systems with changes in
demand, as demonstrated in a case study of the Greater Toronto Area using data from the 2006 and 2011 Transportation Tomorrow Surveys. As a result, it is now possible to measure in real time the effects of disasters on the economic welfare of a population, or quantify the effects of operational strategies and designs on the behavioural activity patterns of the population.

3-dimensional visualizations are becoming a very useful tool in various archaeological contexts, from representations of individual artifacts to complex sites and architectural reconstructions. Useful as these applications are, what is often missing is the ability to illuminate detailed intra-site patterning. Here, we provide background on a pilot project that uses data derived from excavation records to create a 3D visualization focused on identifying new burial patterns within a single site. This project digitized burial data (location and artifact) from Tumulus 18 in the Speckhau mound group associated with the early Iron Age (700-400 BC) Heuneburg hillfort in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Based on the spatial data obtained from digitized excavation maps, topographic and locational data were entered into Esri’s ArcScene to construct a 3D model of the mound prior to excavation as well as schematic representations of individual burials within the tumulus. Spatial and attribute data for both graves and artifacts were used to identify preliminary patterns of deposition and social relationships. We address the potential of this method of visualization for highlighting spatio-temporal patterns within burial mounds, and for generating research questions that have not been previously recognized using conventional mortuary analysis methods.

A challenging aspect of visibility studies is visual acuity, which concerns the clarity of vision within a given space in relation to variables such as spatial geometry, lighting conditions, the physical properties of the viewed object, or the familiarity of viewers with the target. Our research proposes a novel approach to visibility studies, based on visual acuity and its related pipeline, which integrates qualitative and quantitative aspects such as the cultural background of viewers, the illumination values of space, contrast, and size of objects of interest as well as their meaning and context. The proposed pipeline relies on 3D documentation of the investigated space, light measurements, research in optics, trigonometry calculations, and 3D GIS set against images and architectural space. The method's effectiveness is demonstrated in the study of the iconography of the Cathedral of St. John the Theologian in Nicosia, Cyprus, the work hypothesis being that the church's spatial organization, choice of scenes, and level of detail were carefully planned to establish visual narratives with strong political and religious connotations and to overall dictate the ways the building was accessed and experienced. The method can be broadly applied for visibility analyses in a variety of case-studies in closed spaces.

3D GIS as an exploratory environment for data analysis is put to the test.A new method for measuring the damage occurred in an archaeological site is introduced.Image-based 3D modelling techniques and GIS tools are combined together.Vector and raster-based analysis is employed to evaluate the degree of erosion affecting some archaeological layers.The proposed method can improve the strategies of land evaluation and risk assessment.

The rapid technological evolution, which is characterizing all the disciplines involved within the wide concept of smart cities, becomes a key factor to trigger true user-driven innovation. In this context 3D city models will play an increasingly important role in our daily lives and become an essential part of the modern city information infrastructure (Spatial Data Infrastructure). The goal of this paper is to introduce the i-SCOPE (interoperable Smart City services through an Open Platform for urban Ecosystems) project methodology and implementations together with key technologies and open standards. Based on interoperable 3D CityGML UIMs, the aim of i-Scope is to deliver an open platform on top of which it possible to develop, within different domains, various 'smart city' services. Moreover, in i-SCOPE different issues, transcending the mere technological domain, are being tackled, including aspects dealing with social and environmental issues. Indeed several tasks including citizen awareness, crowd source and voluntary based data collection as well as privacy issue concerning involved people should be considered.

Dealing with coloured point cloud acquired from terrestrial laser scanner, this paper identifies remaining challenges for a new data structure: the smart point cloud. This concept arises with the statement that massive and discretized spatial information from active remote sensing technology is often underused due to data mining limitations. The generalisation of point cloud data associated with the heterogeneity and temporality of such datasets is the main issue regarding structure, segmentation, classification, and interaction for an immediate understanding. We propose to use both point cloud properties and human knowledge through machine learning to rapidly extract pertinent information, using user-centered information (smart data) rather than raw data. A review of feature detection, machine learning frameworks and database systems indexed both for mining queries and data visualisation is studied. Based on existing approaches, we propose a new 3-block flexible framework around device expertise, analytic expertise and domain base reflexion. This contribution serves as the first step for the realisation of a comprehensive smart point cloud data structure.

Valuation of the properties is known as real estate appraisal, property valuation or land
valuation and is a process which focuses on determining the value of a building or a land lot.
The valuation of each real estate is required prior to any transaction as every property is
unique in terms of shape, volume, location, orientation, quality and as the transactions on real
estate occur less frequent then usual business transactions. The valuation can be accomplished
to determine the amount of mortgage loans, for setting the tax value, and also for determining
the market value for sales transactions. The earlier analysis of the authors regarding the
current valuation practices in Turkey, United Kingdom, USA, Germany, and The Netherlands
portrayed that property valuation and valuation for taxation is not currently significantly
benefiting from digital 3D Building Models and 3D Cadastres. The overall research
investigates the utilization of building/cadastral information models in derivation of
valuation-related information. Following a literature review of building and land
administration models, the paper elaborates on information requirements for valuation related
to 2D and 3D geometries and Rights, Restrictions, Responsibilities (RRRs) associated with
land lots and buildings. The papers concludes by indicating the role of “streetview” images
and 3D models in enhancing the presentation of valuation information.

A fiscal registry or database is supposed to record geometric, legal, physical, economic, and environmental characteristics in relation to property units, which are subject to immovable property valuation and taxation. Apart from procedural standards, there is no internationally accepted data standard that defines the semantics of fiscal databases. The ISO 19152:2012 Land Administration Domain Model (LADM), as an international land administration standard focuses on legal requirements, but considers out of scope specifications of external information systems including valuation and taxation databases. However, it provides a formalism which allows for an extension that responds to the fiscal requirements. This paper introduces an initial version of a LADM – Fiscal Extension Module for the specification of databases used in immovable property valuation and taxation. The extension module is designed to facilitate all stages of immovable property taxation, namely the identification of properties and taxpayers, assessment of properties through single or mass appraisal procedures, automatic generation of sales statistics, and the management of tax collection, dealing with arrears and appeals. It is expected that the initial version will be refined through further activities held by a possible joint working group under FIG Commission 7 (Cadastre and Land Management) and FIG Commission 9 (Valuation and the Management of Real Estate) in collaboration with other relevant international bodies.

The research group of L’Aquila University defined a procedure to create an architectonical Information System called SIArch-
Univaq. This information system can be integrated with “Risk Map” Italian database. The SIArch-Univaq is based on importation of architectonical three-dimensional photorealistic models in GIS environment. 3D models are realised according to building constructive elements, derived by a critical architectonic surveying; the importation of models into GIS allows the interrogation of the constructive elements (i.e. beam, window, door, etc.): this favour the knowledge of the architectonical heritage, indispensable requirement to plan processes of restoration, maintenance and management

This paper describes a new tool for eye-tracking data and their analysis with the use of interactive 3D models. This tool helps to analyse interactive 3D mod-els easier than by time-consuming, frame-by-frame investigation of captured screen recordings with superimposed scanpaths. The main function of this tool, called 3DgazeR, is to calculate 3D coordinates (X, Y, Z coordinates of the 3D scene) for individual points of view. These 3D coordinates can be calculated from the values of the position and orientation of a virtual camera and the 2D coordinates of the gaze upon the screen. The functionality of 3DgazeR is intro-duced in a case study example using Digital Elevation Models as stimuli. The purpose of the case study was to verify the functionality of the tool and discover the most suitable visualization methods for geographic 3D models. Five selected methods are presented in the results section of the paper. Most of the output was created in a Geographic Information System. 3DgazeR works with the SMI eye-tracker and the low-cost EyeTribe tracker connected with open source applica-tion OGAMA, and can compute 3D coordinates from raw data and fixations.

The application of information and communications technology to support urban operational decision makers has received vast interest from industry and academia. This has helped to mature several fields of research within the smart city domain, such as the internet of things, cybernetics, and informatics. However, these fields of research remain siloed, which leads to a clear gap in the literature.
The paper recognizes the mentioned gap manifesting in a new smart urban area in Wales, UK, and presents a platform which intends to demonstrate the benefits of exploiting the synergies between these fields of research. Following consultation with various stakeholders at the pilot site, the platform utilizes advanced sensing, analytics, interoperability, and visualization components to provide valuable human-machine interactions to facility managers in the district. Delivering this high value knowledge in a timely, engaging, and accessible manner through advanced decision support interfaces.  The paper presents the platform’s software architecture, before discussing the decision support interface, intelligent web services, and interoperability components in more detail. The solution’s key contributions beyond existing internet of things platforms are the use of a 3D game engine, machine learning and optimization web services, and the integration across the knowledge value chain. This knowledge integration is achieved through semantic modelling of the buildings, urban environment, socio-technical systems, and smart devices in the district.

(a.a.diakite, s.zlatanova)@tudelft.nl ABSTRACT: For several decades, indoor navigation has been exclusively investigated in a 2D perspective, based on floor plans, projection and other 2D representations of buildings. Nevertheless, 3D representations are closer to our reality and offer a more intuitive description of the space configuration. Thanks to recent advances in 3D modelling, 3D navigation is timidly but increasingly gaining in interest through the indoor applications. But, because the structure of indoor environment is often more complex than outdoor, very simplified models are used and obstacles are not considered for indoor navigation leading to limited possibilities in complex buildings. In this paper we consider the entire configuration of the indoor environment in 3D and introduce a method to extract from it the actual navigable space as a network of connected 3D spaces (volumes). We describe how to construct such 3D free spaces from semantically rich and furnished IFC models. The approach combines the geometric, the topological and the semantic information available in a 3D model to isolate the free space from the rest of the components. Furthermore, the extraction of such navigable spaces in building models lacking of semantic information is also considered. A data structure named combinatorial maps is used to support the operations required by the process while preserving the topological and semantic information of the input models.