Luis A. Hernandez-Ibañez

University of A Coruña | UDC · videaLAB

This paper describes the results of a case study about how Assisted Navigation and Natural User Interfaces can facilitate user control in virtual architectural walkthroughs and improve the overall experience. This study combines the authors’ previous research in these lines, studying the summed effect of both on a UX test scenario. The installation...

This paper describes a graphic application named Heighmap Examiner designed to help educate students on the computer graphics techniques that constitute the core of visualisation modules in GIS software. It applies various pixel-based algorithms over elevation datasets or heightmaps to obtain topographic and cartographic representations such as tho...

This paper describes the results of a case study intended to compare three different user movement paradigms (metaphoric, symbolic and natural) designed to control the visit of virtual environments for a NUI-based museum installation. It also evaluates the effects of previous expertise with 3D video games in the results for users that took part in...

Data in the educational context are becoming increasingly important in decision-making and teaching-learning processes. Similar to the industrial context, educational institutions are adopting data-processing technologies at all levels. To achieve representative results, the processes of extraction, transformation and uploading of educational data...

This article presents a novel installation for the development of hybrid physical-numerical flood models in an augmented reality environment. This installation extends the concept introduced by the well-known Augmented Reality-SandBox (AR-Sandbox) module, which presents a more educational, and less research-based and professional application. It co...

Architectural objects are composed of multiple and complex, heterogeneous elements. A wall, a floor, a window, are examples of the juxtaposition of several distinct elements that are put together to ensemble a single constructive part. Cross-sections in Architecture are usually made to achieve two different goals. On the one hand, a cross-section o...

Museum installations, especially those related to the display of virtual archaeology, often make use of natural user interaction (NUI). Those sets require methods of interaction that are intuitive and easy to all users, independent of their previous skills and experience with similar or related technologies. The use of depth cameras such as the Kin...

Virtual worlds are an environment for the realization of multiple social activities ranging from entertainment to education, economics, or even medicine. Such activities require virtual spaces and buildings for their development and are inhabited by avatars that stand in place of the user. The architecture of these virtual buildings is, for the mos...

- Durante los últimos años, se ha arraigado en la cultura museológica la idea de ofrecer al usuario el conocimiento de la exposición no sólo a través de la muestra de objetos, sino también mediante la interacción del visitante con nuevas formas de instalación audiovisual y multimedia, con las cuales puede experimentar la temática de los contenidos...

- Desde que nacemos, la comunicación con nuestro entorno se basa en el lenguaje corporal; la mirada, el tacto o los gestos constituyen las fórmulas iniciales de comunicación hasta que en etapas posteriores adquirimos el lenguaje hablado y escrito. Hoy en día los museos incorporan, de manera creciente y sostenida, el uso de instalaciones cuyas inter...

In this paper, the authors evaluate and compare two different paradigms of natural interaction, one metaphorical and one natural, in order to control the movement of the user inside a virtual model of an archaeological reconstruction. This work measures the two paradigm’s usability in order to use this installation in a museum environment. The syst...

In this paper, the authors propose a new way to navigate inside virtual architectural environments such as those used in the field of Virtual Archaeology. This approach is based on the study of human movement inside real buildings. Authors describe the design of a computer aided navigation system that could facilitate visitors of virtual reconstruc...

This paper proposes a new way to navigate inside virtual architectural environments such as those used in the field of Virtual Archaeology. This approach is based on the study of human movement inside real buildings to design a computer aided navigation system that could help visitors of virtual reconstructions to take their journey inside digital...

This paper describes the use of Virtual Worlds technology to implement a virtual museum for an interpretation center on the theme of the use of mosaics in ancient Roman villas. In order to foster the comprehension of the meaning of these archaeological remains, incomplete mosaics were completed digitally and placed in virtual rooms to recreate the...

Interpretation centers have become a very adequate and viable solution for effective communication of heritage information in municipalities and rural areas which lack the resources for establishing a traditional, full-scale museum, and where heritage can be an important factor for tourism development. Unlike traditional museums, interpretation cen...

Drawing 2D vectorial information over a 3D terrain elevation model is usually performed by real-time rendering to texture. In the case of linear feature representation, there are several specific problems using the texturing approach, specially when using multi-resolution textures. These problems are related to visual quality, aliasing artifacts an...

The use of virtual worlds in the school is an extraordinary tool to engage the children in the process of e-learning. Although one can find many examples that describe the use of such a technology in teaching regular educational contents, very few examples replicate other classical outdoor educational activities such as a visit to a museum, includi...

This paper describes a methodology for the development of a didactic installation intended to explore the spatial, volumetric and formal relationships that, being present in any architectural work, are basic to understand the compositive and stylistic aspects that define some historical key buildings as paradigms of the history of Architecture. Suc...

his paper focuses on architectural spatial design for virtual tridimensional learning environments through the lens of a case study. The work describes the design methodology of a flexible and interactive set of virtual constructions where the architecture itself acts as a dynamic interface whose spaces adapt to the activities that avatars carry ou...

Nowadays, new forms of virtual architecture are appearing as virtual worlds based on the Metaverse concept are becoming increasingly more popular, holding all kind of virtual versions of human activities. This paper aims to make a reflection on the features of these new architectures compared with their equivalents in the real world by means of an...

This paper proposes the application of existing knowledge about the museum visitor to the design of interactive systems that are common today in the museum, in order to improve the educational experience of this peculiar user.

Resumen Este artículo describe los resultados sobre el estudio de la experiencia del usuario de dos colegios den-tro de un espacio virtual educativo flexible que conjuga escuela y museo. Este espacio educativo integral incluye no solo la exploración de áreas expositivas, sino que abarca desde charlas telepresenciales por parte del personal del muse...

In this work, we describe the results in the study of the user experience of three groups of children within a flexible virtual space that connects school and museum. This integrated educational space includes not only the exploration of exhibition areas but also includes telepresence talks on the part of museum personnel, simulations, educational...

El presente artículo describe el proceso de diseño, producción e implementación de una aplicación destinada a permitir el análisis formal interactivo de la Catedral de Santiago de Compostela. La complejidad geométrica del modelo edificio para el detalle requerido, derivada principalmente de la profusión de elementos estilísticos presentes en el mis...

Immersive virtual reality constitutes a powerful tool for the vivid exploration of virtual spaces. The feeling of presence produced in the user by the action of seeing the digital space just pointing the view in any direction is greatly enhanced when adding the capability of walking physically during the experience. This paper describes aspects rel...

Nowadays, new forms of virtual architecture are appearing as virtual worlds based on the Met averse concept are becoming increasingly more popular, holding all kind of virtual versions of human activities. This paper is a reflection on the features of these new architectures compared with their equivalents in the real world by means of an analysis...

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide large information management capabilities. However, in many cases the feature of the visualization of this data over a huge detailed three-dimensional terrain does not exist or are limited, wich can be very useful or desirable in many applications. This paper presents the integration of SANTI, a three-di...

This paper analyzes the degree of application of the technology of virtual worlds, also called Metaverses in the field of education, gathering examples carried out throughout the world and describing the advantages and disadvantages of the different platforms that can be used for the creation and development of metaverses for educational purposes....

Los museos basan su potencial educativo en la posibilidad por parte del visitante de vivir una experiencia de forma directa, ya sea a partir de un objeto u ambiente recreado. Como entidades que dependen directamente de la sociedad y que experimentan a la vez sus avances, han implementado la tecnología multimedia digital en las exposiciones con mayo...

Este articulo propone la aplicacion del conocimiento existente sobre el visitante del museo al diseno de los sistemas interactivos que hoy en dia son habituales en este entorno, con el fin de mejorar la experiencia educativa de este usuario singular.

Immersive virtual reality constitutes a powerful tool for the vivid exploration of virtual spaces.The feeling of presence produced in the user by the action of seeing the digital space just pointing the view in any direction is greatly enhanced when adding the capability of walking physically during the experience. This paper describes aspects rela...

El potencial de los metaversos, mundos virtuales tridimensionales multiusuario on-line, donde los usuarios crean sus contenidos, que abarcan campos tan diversos como la cultura, la ciencia, la educación o la recreación patrimonial entre otras, va mas allá de actuar como generador de conexiones humanas y de alojar actividades sociales compartidas, a...

Resumen Galicia Dixital es una exposición que abrió sus puertas en Santiago de Compostela para mostar a sus visitantes, a través de las nuevas tecnologías audiovisuales la cultura y el patrimonio de esta comunidad autónoma, a la vez que se les ilustra en el uso y aplicaciones de tecnologías de vanguardia. Este artículo describe algunas de sus insta...

Galicia Dixital is an exhibition located in Santiago de Compostela whith the mission to show the culture and heritage of this region through the use of new audiovisual technologies, whilst to demonstrate the use and applications of avant-garde technology. This paper describes some of the installations present there with special emphasis in The Empt...

The real-time rendering of arbitrarily large textures is a problem that has long been studied in terrain visualization. For years, different approaches have been published that have either expensive hardware requirements or other severe limitations in quality, performance or versatility. The biggest problem is usually a strong coupling between geom...

En este artículo se describen las experiencias de los autores en el diseño y la ejecución de tres instalaciones interactivas para museos basados en el concepto de interfaces naturales, es decir, aquellos que hacen uso de los medios de comunicación utilizados por los seres humanos en su relación natural con su entorno a través de capacidades comunes...

Immersive Virtual Reality Systems have been extensively used during recent years for the exploration of architectonic spaces. This paper describes how the use of transitable immersive virtual reality systems, that is, those that allow the user to physically walk while exploring the virtual world, can greatly empower the experience of perception of...

This paper describes the use of a existing Virtual Reality installation developed by the authors named the Empty Museum that allows the users to walk physically into a virtual space. It is used in this case to explore a bronze age housing unit actually being excavated in the settlement of San Cibran de Las (Spain). The project involved a recreation...

Resumen El Grupo de Visualización Avanzada en Arquitectura, Ingeniería Civil y Urbanismo (videaLAB) desarrolla sus actividades de investigación en la ETS de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de la Universidade da Coruña, aplicando las tecnologías de gráficos por computador a todos los campos de la constucción, tanto de proyectos futuros como...

Las capacidades para la gestión, procesado y análisis de datos geoespaciales que ofrecen los Sistemas de Información Geográfica unidas a las prestaciones de visualización de los navegadores 3D sobre el terreno, abre una cantidad ilimitada de posibilidades en el área de la cartografía digital y su explotación en diferentes ámbitos técnicos y sociale...

We present a technique for efficient management of large textures and its real-time application to geometric models. The proposed technique is inspired by the clipmap [12] idea, that caches in video memory a subset of the texture mipmap pyramid. Based on this concept, we define some structures and a different management allowing its implementation...

This paper describes the authors? experience in the design and implementation of three interactive installations for museums based in the natural interfaces concept; that is, those that make use of the ways of communication used by humans in their natural relation with their environment by means of common abilities such as talking, gesturing, walki...

Hoy en día, las nuevas formas de la arquitectura virtual aparecen como mundos virtuales basadas en el concepto de metaverso son cada vez más populares, presionando todo tipo de versiones virtuales de las actividades humanas. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo hacer una reflexión sobre las características de estas nuevas arquitecturas en comparación c...

During the last years, several computational tools arose allowing the users to fly interactively over realistic simulations of the terrain using DTM, aerial pictures and satellite data. One of them, the Advanced Interactive Terrain Navigation System (SANTI) was developed by the authors. This system stood out because of its submetric resolution, rea...

Tras la experiencia de los últimos años en el desarrollo del Sistema Avanzado de Navegación en Terrenos Interactivos (SANTI), es decir, un sistema interactivo de visualización tridimensional de terreno en tiempo real basado en datos altimétricos e imágenes de satélite y aéreas, se abre una nueva línea de investigación que integra esta visualización...

We describe the use of an immersive, walkable VR system called The Empty Museum that the authors have developed to allow the users to walk in virtual spaces where they can experience interactive 3D cultural contents. We briefly describe the architecture of the system, to focus on the analysis of the modes of interaction between user and content in...