B. Benedetti - [email protected] M. E. Masci - [email protected] ICT Systems for the communication,...

B. Benedetti - [email protected]

M. E. Masci - [email protected]

ICT Systems for the communication,

preservation, management and exploitation

of Cultural Heritage.

The involvement of

Scuola Normale Superiore - Consorzio FORMA of Pisa (Italy)

in some running experiences within EU Projects

and a discussion on New Perspectives

toward the VII Framework Program

Regional Meeting of the SEEDI – Sofia, 12 June 2006

B. [email protected]

M.E. [email protected]

The Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa - Italy

The SNS was founded by Napoleon in 1810 as a branch of the École Normale Supérieure de Paris. It is a public University classified as “Institute of Excellence” for high education and research.

The academic teaching subjects and the various research laboratories are grouped into two main partitions: the Class of Arts and the Class of Sciences.SNS also promotes masters and post-graduate courses on Cultural Heritage management and exploitation and on ICT design for Cultural Resources.



The Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa - Italy

In the field of ICT applied to Cultural Heritage, SNS started its researches in 1978, under the direction of Prof. Paola Barocchi, when the partnership with The Harvard University Centre for Italian Renaissance Studies, the University of Siena Art History Department and the CNUCE Department of CNR (National Council for the Research) originated the "First International Conference on Automatic Processing of Art-History Data and Documents".

Following collaborations with Accademia della Crusca and J. Paul Getty Trust, SNS produced a number of researches in the lexicographical field on Automatic Processing of Art-History Data and Documents.



SNS – Recent experiences: EU Projects

Recently the SNS research groups carried out new collaborations with Museums, Superintendences, Archives, Libraries and other cultural institutions in Italy and abroad, using ICT for the indexing, cataloguing, management and communication of linguistic, lexical and iconographical data.

Amongst the already carried out EU Projects we can mention:

META-E – The Metadata Engine Project5th Framework, IST Programme, Area "Digital Heritage and Cultural Content“.Start date: September 2000End date: September 2003

Consortium: 14 partners from 7 European Countries and from US

http://meta-e.aib.uni-linz.ac.at/



SNS – Recent experiences: EU Projects

CHANCE – Cultural Heritage Access through Networked serviCes for Edutainment marketTEN-Telecom Programme.Start date: February 2001End date: July 2002Consortium: 11 partners from 5 European Countries.

I-MASS - Information Management and interoperability of content for distributed Systems of high volume data repositories through multi agent Systems5th Framework, IST Programme, Action line: “Information management methods”.Start date: January 2001End date: October 2003Consortium: 11 partners from 4 European Countries.



Amongst the already carried out National Projects we can mention:

- website: 1999 -G. Vasari, Le Vitehttp://biblio.cribecu.sns.it/vasari/

- website: 1999 -The Leaning tower of Pisa:1173–2000http://torre.duomo.pisa.it/

- website: 2000 -Corpus informatico Bellorianohttp://biblio.signum.sns.it/bellori/

- website: 2001 -Monumenta Rariorahttp://moratesti.cribecu.sns.it/

SNS – Recent experiences: National Projects



The Consorzio FORMA

http://forma.sns.it

The FORMA Consortium was founded in 1999 in order to develop applied research studies aimed at the development of new

methodologies for the management, preservation and communication of Cultural Heritage.

The Consortium joins 8 members: Associazione Civita Associazione Memofonte Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio - CISA Electa - Divisione Beni Culturali Istituto Nazionale di Studi sul Rinascimento - INSR Istituto di Studi e Analisi Economica – ISAE Museo Nazionale del Cinema e della Fotografia di Torino Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa - SNS



FORMA has its head office inside the Scuola Normale and the research staff is composed by researchers involved in projects both of the FORMA Consortium and of the Scuola Normale.

During the last years, Scuola Normale and Consorzio FORMA improved their experience in research projects for the digital treatment of texts and images, and for the Cultural Heritage communication through the web and through other media.

As the aim of FORMA and SNS is the development of Research activities and of high level Education and training, they are promoting and carrying out mainly scientific research projects in collaboration with other research institutions.

A good strategy for the scientific and technical improvement of those research project and for their exploitation is:

the FORMA and SNS involvement in targeted EU Projects the organisation of high level Masters and training Courses

SNS – FORMA strategy for developing and exploiting scientific research



SNS – FORMA strategy for developing and exploiting scientific research

1 – planning and developmentof scientific research projects

2 – SNS and FORMA involvementin targeted EU Projects

3 – SNS and FORMA organisationof Masters and training Courses

collaboration withother Institutions

developmentand exploitation

exploitation

exploitation

collaboration withother Institutionsand companies

re-use of contentsvisibility of research

results

development exploitation exploitation

re-use of contentsand disseminationof research results

education andtraining



Two methodological schemes of research on digital libraries to define a common platform within a broad perspective approach (of course with interconnected areas and crossing items):

a. Starting from the structured setting of the objects towards the single objects:

a library, an archive, a museum exhibition/repository of objects (real objects, books, manuscripts, photos, documents, virtual objects...), also in relationship to the stored documents on the objects.

This approach concerns mainly a defined number of objects to be considered as a structured ensemble, generally in progress, in some cases to be related to other documents and to other similar objects in analogous settings.

b. Starting from the single CH object or from structured objects (in their context) towards their structured setting (physical,

environmental, cultural, historical):an object with references to other related objects, to related textual and visual

documents.

SNS – FORMA Methodological Approach



Also a collection or a building together with its historical content (an integrated unity of container-content), has to be considered as a complex object in itself. In this case an CH object has to be considered, analysed and reconstructed in at least three different interrelated and consistent perspectives:

The real contemporary object (and its environment) The historical physical evolution of the object (and its

environment) The cultural evolution of the object (and its environment)

The main structural difference between a museum and a library/archive is that the general meaning of a museum can be changed changing the sequence, the choice or the exhibition settings of an object and its relationships to the other objects.




On the contrary, a collection can keep its historical and original meaning, keeping the exhibition setting of the objects according to the original idea of the author or authors.

Within this integrated scientific approach to implement the data gathered from heterogeneous sources, which are different for the lexicon and the language, a coherent and scientifically based metadata system seems to be a basic tool to achieve the critical knowledge of an object to be organised in a digital library through visual and textual data bases.




A CH object can be defined and critically known through the approach to these aspects:

information of its present physical state information of its historical physical states (degrade, modifications,

additions) historical information and information on its cultural evolution In the case of object/collection, also the information on the position of the

object within the collection related to the other objects has to be considered, being a consistent element of critical knowledge of the object.

as a parallel, also the developing environmental context of a monument has to be considered, being a consistent inner element of it.

Perception and representation of the object, that is its perception as a historical and cultural development. This aspect can be related and integrated to the others aspects, but also keeps an autonomous approach and development. That is, the object through the perception of the visitors in different times and from different cultural perspectives.




Thereafter the research on a CH object can concern only two real aspects: the real object “here and now” (also through the lens of present representations) and its cultural perception-representations recorded by the real extant textual and visual documents through the ages.

The other aspects needed to perform its critical knowledge are mental or virtual, and can be historically reconstructed. Of course, every scholar and researcher can focus more on a particular aspect in planning and carrying out his research, even concentrating on only one of them.

In this methodological framework on digital libraries development, there can be a wider platform where to debate the relationship between innovative technologies and scientific research, where innovation has not only to do with technology.




SNS – FORMA. Some ongoing scientific Research Projects

Lucca and its Landshttp://luccapro.sns.it/

The project started in 1999. It aims at promoting and communicating the cultural patrimony and the landscape of the Region of Lucca (Tuscany, Italy) through a web portal.The portal joins two interrelated sub-portals: the first one offers touristic information and the second one detailed cultural information. Both are connected to a map of the region.An experimentation for distributing contents also through GSM / MMS is successfully ongoing.




The ‘Fortuna visiva’ of Pompeiihttp://pompei.sns.it/

The main object of the research (started in 2002 – ongoing) is the examination of the perceptions and representations of Pompeii, in its several shapes and variations in space and time, in order to obtain an overall view, based on an historical and critical synthesis.An on-line Digital Archive joins visual and written documents (from the discovery of Pompeii in 1748 to the end of the XIXth century). The Archive is connected to a Digital Library and to a GIS.The contents of this project have been provided as a case study to the EU BRICKS Project and presently a specific BRICKS interface for the ‘Fortuna visiva’ is under development.




The travel-guides of RomeArchaeological Itineraries of the Travellers before the Grand Tour

This project started in 2005 and presently the data-entry system has been realised and tested. At the moment we are implementing the first contents.The research aims at identifying the itineraries and the monuments visited by travellers and connoisseurs in the transition phase from the jubilees’ travel to the antiquarian travel. By focusing the analysis on the texts from XVI and XVII centuries, the research intends to examine the slow change in taste from Rome conceived as sacred city, to Rome intended as the centre of antiquity.The research results will be edited in a web site.




The Portal of Italian Culture – http://www.culturaitalia.it/

In September 2004, the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (MiBAC) committed to SNS the scientific and technical project for the Italian Portal of Culture. It will provide unique and integrated access to digital contents created both by MiBAC and its central and local departments, by public or private Institutions (Museums, Libraries, Archives, Universities, etc.) and by other providers, as regional and local portals.The project has been delivered in 2005, as well as a prototype realised by SNS in order to verify and test the project’s issues. At the moment SNS is following the fulfilment of the Portal as consultant of MiBAC.



The involvement of SNS – FORMA in EU Projects

FORMA is directly involved as Partner in the following EU projects:

HELP - http://www.munchundberlin.org/

DELOS - http://www.delos.info/

BRICKS - http://www.brickscommunity.org/

CALLAS - (starting project)



The involvement of SNS – FORMA in EU Projects

Within a cooperation agreement with MiBAC, the research staff of SNS – FORMA, is also involved as a scientific consultant Institution, in some tasks of the following EU projects:

MINERVA - http://www.minervaeurope.org/

MICHAEL - http://www.michael-culture.org/



The involvement of SNS – FORMA in ongoing EU Projects

HELPSeeing a World of Art by Visual Impaired Peoplehttp://www.munchundberlin.org/5th Framework, Culture 2000Start date: 2002End date: 2003Consortium: 4 partners from 3 European

Countries

DELOSNetwork of Excellence for Digital Libraries http://www.delos.info/6th Framework, IST ProgrammeStart date: January 2004End date: December 2007Consortium: 55 members



The involvement of SNS – FORMA in ongoing EU Projects

BRICKSBuilding Resources for Integrated Cultural Knowledge Serviceshttp://www.brickscommunity.org/6th Framework, IST ProgrammeStart date: January 2004End date: June 2007Consortium: 24 partners from 9 European

Countries

CALLASCo-operative Augmented Living Laboratory for Art and Scenography6th Framework, IST ProgrammeStarting Project – duration 36 MonthsConsortium: 19 partners from 9 European

Countries



Case Studies: BRICKS and CALLAS

Now we are going to illustrate, as case studies, two EU Projects in which SNSand FORMA are involved as partners:

1) The BRICKS Project and the integration of the ‘Fortuna Visiva of Pompeii’ contents

2) The CALLAS Project: a starting EU Project

The BRICKS Projectand the integration of the ‘Fortuna Visiva of Pompeii’ contents

ProjectProject AcronymAcronym: BRICKS - Building Resources for Integrated Cultural Knowledge Services

Project numberProject number: 507457

ProjectProject instrumentinstrument: Integrated Project of 6th Framework Programme of European Community

ThematicThematic areaarea: Digital Libraries Services

Action LineAction Line: Technology. Enhanced Learning and Access to Cultural Heritage

ConsortiumConsortium: 24 Organisations from 9 Countries

DurationDuration: 42 months (January 2004 – June 2007)

BudgetBudget: 12,2 Mega Euro

BRICKS is an Integrated Project of the 6th Framework Program of the

European Commission, involving 24 partners selected amongst

Institutions devoted to the Cultural Heritage preservation, Universities and

Research Institutes, Information Technologies Enterprises.

BRICKS aims at building a

management structure and a

technological platform focused on the

creation of a Digital Library of the

European Memory, to be used and

enlarged by cultural users, such as

museums, libraries, archives, research

institutions, etc.http://www.brickscommunity.org/

The core of the project is the building of a distributed infrastructure for cultural resources, into a P2P network, within which each database, legacy system or repository could be physically stored in a BNode (BRICKS node) by the single promoting Institution and, at the same time, could support queries as in a whole.

The retrieval of cultural resources is based on the descriptive metadata harvesting, using the codification in XML of documents and the metadata porting with OAI-PMH; besides the adoption of metadata codified by Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, the BRICKS retrieval system can identify other metadata sets and the related ontology.

Moreover, the BRICKS system provides some web services, distributed on single nodes of the net, but available by each partner of the DL, as the automatic indexing, the protection with Digital Rights Management System, and tools for the editing of new collections and of annotations on the existing resources.

For the demonstrator shown in the first review of the Project (march 2005) metadata related to the contents of the ‘Fortuna visiva of Pompeii’ have been transposed in XML and mapped in DC standard, together with other metadata and contents from different repositories. Then metadata have been harvested throug OAI-PMH into the BRICKS System.

Bricks Network

Brick Node

Map Server

User

GISData

Pompeii Web Server

Brick Node

Brick Node

Brick Node

Brick Node

Brick Node

Internet

Pompeii’s GIS have been transposed into web services and connected with

the contents pertaining to the database using BRICKS services at the level of

the interface:

the architecture has

been integrated joining

a Map Server, which

is compatible with OGC

(Open Geospatial

Consortium) standard.

The integration of contents from

BNode and Map Server

will be implemented at the

Application level.

At the moment the ‘Fortuna Visiva of Pompeii’ application for BRICKS is under development, using BRICKS platform and services.BRICKS Fortuna visiva of Pompeii Application will allow users:

to find the resources provided via OAI-PMH to see metadata and contents (iconographic, bibliographic, unedited

sources and the Pompeii GIS) to enrich those contents using annotations

Co-operative Augmented Living Laboratory for Art and Scenography

• CALLAS aims to define and develop a multimodal architecture including emotional aspects, targeted to new media applications

• CALLAS aims to be the creative laboratory for experimenting new concepts for a more participative and affective-enriched user interaction in new media applications

...as Maria Callas provided a more emotional approach to her music, the CALLAS project will introduce emotional and natural interaction into New Media applications ...

CALLAS Vision

• To develop a set of software components (the CALLAS Shelf), with input modalities (speech, sound, non-verbal behaviour and basic physical interaction) and output modalities (speech, non-verbal behaviour, affective ECA, music, haptics)

• To propose a Software Engineering Framework (the CALLAS Framework), based on the customised integration of the above components into an architecture with authoring of application-specific control, supporting rapid prototyping and development

CALLAS Objectives

CALLAS Showcases

• The validation of the CALLAS approach requires prototypes to be developed in several relevant application areas. The CALLAS Showcases cover representative classes of applications in the field of Art and Entertainment:

– Augmented Reality for Art, Entertainment, and Digital Theatre– Interactive Installations for Public Spaces– Next-Generation Interactive Television

• This showcase will demonstrate how the real time detection of the affective state of the people involved in a live performance (directors, actors, audience) can improve the “naturalness” of the experience, paving the way for unexplored ways of broader and more pervasive

participation of the users (audience).

• It will also provide innovative natural immersive interfaces and devices for creating or living interactive performing art works within multidimensional (virtual, augmented, mixed) realities

Digital theatre

Digital installation

Digital installation (ii)

Public Places

• Places change radically during events during which visitors experience something out of the ordinary. Also events are distributed in a large area over a prolonged period of time

• Emotional states of visitors can be used to create new types of rich interaction that better support visitor decision-making

Public Places

Interactive TV

• There is an opportunity to investigate how conversational agents can be connected to programme content:

– Reacting to the unfolding and content of the programme itself (assuming a type of programme supporting appropriate metadata)

– Being an interactive part of the programme, for instance by acting as presenters over several video streams (news, weather)

Interactive TV



Toward the 7th Framework Programme 2007 – 2013'Building the ERA of knowledge for growth’

The core idea is a research

'knowledge triangle’: education innovation

Cooperation: More than half the budget will support cooperation between universities, industry, research centres and public authorities

Ideas: A European Research Council (ERC) will be set up to stimulate creativity and excellence by funding basic or 'frontier' research.

People: Support to training, mobility and careers development through reinforced 'Marie Curie actions'

Capacieties: Research and innovation capacity is to be enhanced by coordinating infrastructures and by supporting regional research-driven clusters, SMEs, a closer relationship between science and society, and the development of international cooperation.



Toward the 7th Framework Programme 2007 – 2013'Building the ERA of knowledge for growth’

Although the huge budget for FP7, 72726 million EUR, according to CE officers there will not be a specific objective related to cultural heritage preservation, nor to learning or digitalizing.

Projects will be supposed to develop multifunction tools and applications, which will be tested and used in different research areas, from e-health to e-government, Initiatives on Cultural Heritage could be developed within such projects, as testbeds or applications.

End of Presentation

Thank you for your kind attention!

B. Benedetti - [email protected] M. E. Masci - [email protected] ICT Systems for the communication,...

Documents

Transcript of B. Benedetti - [email protected] M. E. Masci - [email protected] ICT Systems for the communication,...