The creation of artworks in the metaverse as unique files that exist on a blockchain world of the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have revitalized discussions over the uniqueness of a work of art. Similar to the art world market in Second Life, this has presented a novel way to collect imported or natively digital art. This raises the following questions: What are the processes that artwork undergoes in the web 3.0 or metaverse? What constitutes the reproduction/recreation of a work of art? Which tools can be exploited to create more content for this universe? How does this new approach affect ownership, scarcity and authenticity? Unlike art productions that find a place in museums or galleries, Daragaç Art Collective independently uses the streets both as their location, and as their canvas. This creates the need to store the artworks as fully as possible in any form available. With this aim, a team of architects, designers and software engineers designed, implemented and tested a mobile application to represent and recreate the experience of the artworks in the digital environment. The artworks of independent artists were collected virtually and compiled in a relational database over the years, and are displayed in their geographical coordinates, and represented in the 3D world. After discussion on how to represent the artworks, it was decided that some only exist in videos and photographs, therefore, we decided to use the archaeology of digital data and present them in 3D space, to ensure their continued existence once they had been performed or exhibited. Illustrated by the case of our augmented application, this paper discusses the reproduction of ownership and scarcity of artworks in terms of preserving a cultural heritage in the metaverse.
The emergence of technological innovations in disciplines such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IOT) has introduced opportunities to enhance the traditional user experience. The potential of these opportunities has yet to be fully explored particularly within the cultural heritage sector where immersive technologies can benefit both the user and the heritage site. A potentially unforgettable user experience can be offered in an immersive environment and these technologies can also be used to rebuild locations under threat to ensure they can be accessed in the future (Garlandini, 2021). The intention of this paper is to critically analyse the emergence of Industry 5.0 and the implementation of personalisation in a machine learning system. It is important to thoroughly evaluate the aspects of AI technologies and the IOT that can be used to support personalisation. An element of blockchain technology known as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) which was developed in the recent past may have the potential to address ongoing challenges in digital curation and this research paper will provide an evaluation of this technology. It is crucial for all the technologies mentioned to work together to produce a system that aligns with the traditional human-centred philosophy and is inclusive to all participants.
We present a technique to embed information invisible to the eye inside 3D printed objects. The information is integrated in the object model, and then fabricated using off-the-shelf dual-head FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) 3D printers. Our process does not require human intervention during or after printing with the integrated model. The information can be arbitrary symbols, such as icons, text,binary, or handwriting. To retrieve the information, we evaluate two different infrared-based imaging devices that are readily available-thermal cameras and near-infrared scanners. Based on our results, we propose design guidelines for a range of use cases to embed and extract hidden information. We demonstrate how our method can be used for different applications, such as interactive thermal displays, hidden board game tokens, tagging functional printed objects, and autographing non-fungible fabrication work.
Describing a substantial proportion of the world’s species could be made much easier by the 3D digitization of collections, which would facilitate the dissemination of taxonomic information locked up in natural history museums. Three-dimensional imaging captures many characters and allows a lot of versatility in the way that morphological data is displayed and used (Wheeler et al. 2012; Faulwetter et al. 2013). Moreover, the loss and damage of valuable specimens, many of which are very fragile, can be reduced as a result of the use and sharing of 3D model substitutes among researchers. This can also lead to a reduction in the handling and transportation expenses of many specimens.
Interpenetration of ideas, culture, economics, raw materials and etc. are causing globalization in our society. This trend is also assisted by the growing technological innovations. Society is increasingly turning to digital tools to provide fast communications, access to information and goods through the global network, especially needed during the pandemic. In terms of art, these factors contribute to shifting the range from classical means of expression to contemporary art forms focused on digital media. Historically, the discovery of photography in the 19th century radically changed art. Painting frees itself from the function of reflecting objective reality and seeks new means of expression and meaning. In the early 20th century, new trends in the avant-garde art seek to depict intangible things away from visible reality such as the inner world of the artist, emotions, symbols, music, time and more. One of the brightest trends - Cubism is a typical example. It seeks a way to show objects rationally from several sides simultaneously - three-dimensional, but unfortunately it is limited by the means of expression - the two-dimensional surface of the canvas. Digital technologies today have a solution to this problem. They provide digital tools that completely change painting. The canvas no longer exists in the familiar way in which the artist works. It is becoming history. With the invention of VR glasses, the boundaries of visible reality and imagination in art have been removed to enter a new virtual world. Tilt Brush technology goes one step further, giving the opportunity to the artist to create 3D images with a brush in hand while moving in the virtual world he creates. Canvas doesn’t exist, it is a virtual digital world three-dimensional arising from the imagination of the artist and existing only through the eyes of the pink VR glasses. Here comes the question, will technology displace the artist's hand? Keywords: Digital Art, Art, Virtual Reality (VR), Tilt Brush, Technological Innovations, Net Art, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT), Artificial Intelligence
This paper presents a smart contract-based solution for autonomous administration of construction progress payments. It bridges the gap between payments (cash flow) and the progress assessments at job sites (product flow) enabled by reality capture technologies and building information modeling (BIM). The approach eliminates the reliance on the centralized and heavily intermediated mechanisms of existing payment applications. The construction progress is stored in a distributed manner using content addressable file sharing; it is broadcasted to a smart contract which automates the on-chain payment settlements and the transfer of lien rights. The method was successfully used for processing payments to 7 subcontractors in two commercial construction projects where progress monitoring was performed using a camera-equipped unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) equipped with a laser scanner. The results show promise for the method's potential for increasing the frequency, granularity, and transparency of payments. The paper is concluded with a discussion of implications for project management, introducing a new model of project as a singleton state machine.
The ITC Digital Library has an ambition to provide a single point of entry to scholarly and research publication from the domain of construction informatics alias construction information technology. We believe that works, in full text, should be available for free, to the researchers, students and the industry.
Dmitry Gura, Yu. V. Dubenko, E. E. Dyshkant, A P Pavlyukova · 5 authors
Abstract The paper considers three technologies for obtaining data on the road surface -through video recording, thermal imaging and laser scanning for the purpose of monitoring, diagnostics and control of the road quality. An analysis of the first two methods showed their significant drawbacks, such as the inability to measure the geometric parameters of deformations (video recording) and the significant dependence of the measurement results on external conditions (thermal imaging). Laser scanning, on the contrary, has a number of advantages, including coordinate referencing, obtaining a three-dimensional model, its transformation and measurement of parameters. Laser scanning is widely used, but mainly for measuring the quantitative characteristics of objects. The paper discusses the application of the laser scanning method to determine the qualitative characteristics of the road surface - the presence or absence of defects, which include hollow spots, waves, cavities, chipping, bleeding, humps, cracks, vertical displacement of road plates, rutting, unevenness of patching, damage to the road surface, track, breach, destruction of the pavement edge, subsidence followed by a complex of repair work. For this, a ground-based laser scanning was performed, the results of which were processed using the Leica Cyclone 9.4 software. According to the scanning data, defects were detected in the form of soil subsidence, hollow spots and humps. The performed work revealed a drawback of the laser scanning method, which consists in the absence of automated detection and recognition of deformations. A number of measures have been proposed to improve this drawback, which slows down the randomness and quality of work in monitoring and diagnosing the road. Further prospects for research on this topic, in particular the multi-purpose use of scanning data, by creating a distributed ledger are also indicated.
Abstract Ensuring sustainability for real estate is subject - among other aspects - to building related information. This information needs to be stored and updated continuously throughout the life cycle of a building. A delivery to buyers, tenants, consultants or other actors must be possible at any time. However, in most cases transactions cause significant loss of information while the issues associated with the “building passport” approach remains unsolved to date. Considering the long service life of buildings, various questions arise: (1) How to support data generation and storage within the life cycle and how to encourage actors to compete? (2) How to assure a high data quality and how to store it over a long period of time? (3) How to assure that all data users can track down the data owners at any point of time to manage compliance and legal issues? (4) Are there any new business models or new scopes for designers or other service providers? Information needs of actors along the life cycle are analysed and new information technologies (e.g. blockchain) are discussed. A relation to Building Information Modeling (BIM) is shown. Potentials of enhancing existing approaches regarding documentation retracing and accessibility of building and life cycle related information by using new technologies and IT are discussed; benefits of using a blockchain based system is pointed out by referring to existing pilot projects and first examples. Solution approaches for building passports are shown.
The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry has not adopted digital transformation enthusiastically like other industries, for instance, manufacturing, aerospace or finance. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is an innovative technology that is considered as an opportunity for the AEC industry to move to the digital era and improve the collaboration among stakeholders by applying Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). BIM provides all required tools and automations to achieve end-to-end communication, data exchange and information sharing among collaborators. Accordingly, virtual 3D models, created by the BIM process, delivered as physical assets, monitored in real-time and managed using Building Management Systems (BMS), can adopt the Internet of Things (IoT) designs and services. However, the implementation of IoT in a highly modular environment with various moving parts and inter-dependencies between stakeholders leads to security concerns. Therefore, this paper proposes system design that employs the blockchain technology as a measure to secure and control the framework that involves integrated IoT and BIM technologies. Although this paper considers system design applied in a smart museum, the authors assume that design is generic and applicable in other building categories. For instance, this design can be implemented in the ongoing Alumni Hall renovation project at State University of New York College at Oneonta.
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is envisioned as an indispensable opportunity in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industries as a revolutionary technology and process. Smart construction relies on BIM for manipulating information flow, data flow, and management flow. Currently, BIM model has been explored mainly for information construction and utilization, but rare works pay efforts to information security, e.g., critical model audit and sensitive model exposure. Moreover, few BIM systems are proposed to chase after upcoming computing paradigms, such as mobile cloud computing, big data, blockchain, and Internet of Things. In this paper, we make the first attempt to propose a novel BIM system model called bcBIM to tackle information security in mobile cloud architectures. More specifically, bcBIM is proposed to facilitate BIM data audit for historical modifications by blockchain in mobile cloud with big data sharing. The proposed bcBIM model can guide the architecture design for further BIM information management system, especially for integrating BIM cloud as a service for further big data sharing. We propose a method of BIM data organization based on blockchains and discuss it based on private and public blockchain. It guarantees to trace, authenticate, and prevent tampering with BIM historical data. At the same time, it can generate a unified format to support future open sharing, data audit, and data provenance.
Luc Girod, Christopher Nuth, Andreas Kääb, Bernd Etzelmüller · 5 authors
Abstract. Acquiring data to analyse change in topography is often a costly endeavour requiring either extensive, potentially risky, fieldwork and/or expensive equipment or commercial data. Bringing the cost down while keeping the precision and accuracy has been a focus in geoscience in recent years. Structure from motion (SfM) photogrammetric techniques are emerging as powerful tools for surveying, with modern algorithm and large computing power allowing for the production of accurate and detailed data from low-cost, informal surveys. The high spatial and temporal resolution permits the monitoring of geomorphological features undergoing relatively rapid change, such as glaciers, moraines, or landslides. We present a method that takes advantage of light-transport flights conducting other missions to opportunistically collect imagery for geomorphological analysis. We test and validate an approach in which we attach a consumer-grade camera and a simple code-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver to a helicopter to collect data when the flight path covers an area of interest. Our method is based and builds upon Welty et al. (2013), showing the ability to link GNSS data to images without a complex physical or electronic link, even with imprecise camera clocks and irregular time lapses. As a proof of concept, we conducted two test surveys, in September 2014 and 2015, over the glacier Midtre Lovénbreen and its forefield, in northwestern Svalbard. We were able to derive elevation change estimates comparable to in situ mass balance stake measurements. The accuracy and precision of our DEMs allow detection and analysis of a number of processes in the proglacial area, including the presence of thermokarst and the evolution of water channels.
Blockchain technology enables distributed, encrypted and secure logging of digital transactions. It is the underlying technology of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Blockchain is expected to revolutionize computing in several areas, particularly where centralization was unnatural and privacy was important. In the paper, we present research on where and how this technology could be useful in the construction industry. The work is based on the study of literature on open issues that exist in construction process management. These are than matched to the capabilities of blockchain. We are motivated by the fact that construction projects involve a dynamic grouping of several companies. We study the degree to which the relationships among them are hierarchical or peer-to-peer and note that particularly in information intensive phases, centralization of information management was necessary because of technology. When using un-constraining technology, communication patterns among participants show a peer-to-peer nature of the relationships. In such environment, blockchain can provide a trustworthy infrastructure for information management during all building life-cycle stages. Even if building information modelling (BIM) is used, which assumes a centralized building information model, there is a role for blockchain to manage information on who did what and when and thus provide a basis for any legal arguments that might occur. On the construction site blockchain can improve the reliability and trustworthiness of construction logbooks, works performed and material quantities recorded. In the facility maintenance phase, blockchain's main potential is the secure storage of sensor data which are sensitive to privacy. We conclude that blockchain provides solutions to many current problems in construction information management. However, it is more likely that it will be built into generic IT infrastructure on top of which construction applications are built, rather than used directly by authors of construction related software. It has a potential to make construction processes less centralized which opens needs for research in that direction.