DVR-Pompei

DVR (Desktop Virtual Reality) Pompei project is aimed to the creation of a virtual reality desktop system able to connect and to visualize data and spatial models in the same environment, interface and three-dimensional context of interaction. The archaeological case study of the House of Vettii has been chosen because of the features of the monument, of the related data, of the urgent needs of restoration, preservation and documentation and of the activity "in situ" of the Istituto Centrale del Restauro (maps, texts,, images, digital archives, archaeometric analyses). The activity of the ICR is fundamental for the knowledge and the history of the monument because it keeps the documentation of all the processes of survey, analysis and restoration; all these information are totally unaccessible without a digital connection of the spatial data. We can define this structural knowledge an augmented reality system of information.The system involves the creation of original software (written in C++), specifically addressed towards the OpenGl environment, in order to use the high performances of the last graphic cards for giving the users a real time interaction with the three-dimensional models. The acquisition of data in the fieldwork and the following 3D processing is involving the most advanced technologies of survey: EDM total laser stations, 3D laser scanners for the architectonic survey in micro scale, (i.e. walls; using Vivid 900 Minolta) and in macro scale (i.e. rooms; Cyrax) and photogrammetric techniques. The final goal of this project in progress is to create a pilot study for the scientific community for exporting then the system to the general public though digital stations positioned "on site".