We often face obstacles to visit certain places, facilities, and institutions. This was especially noticeable during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this period telepresence applications were of ...exceptional importance. They supported communications and provided social interactions, enriching our lives during isolation. In this paper, we propose a solution for telepresence using Padbot U1 robot and the MQTT protocol. The idea is to use this solution for virtual tours in museums, art galleries, historical sites, etc. We have developed two different applications. One is a client application used by the visitor, for controlling the robot remotely. The other application is for the mobile device (tablet) attached to the robot, which is used to enable telepresence and to forward control commands to the robot. By scanning the QR codes placed on the objects, visitors can also get specific information about each of objects. Communication between applications (sending commands and receiving information for objects) is realized with the MQTT protocol. For the developed solution, we also conducted experiments to evaluate some basic criteria for VTs.
Modern Formula of Tourism – Virtual Tourism Adriana Ștefan (Matei)
"Ovidius" University Annals. Economic Sciences Series (Online),
01/2019, Letnik:
XIX, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Virtual tourism is part of e-commerce and unites some of the fastest growing technologies such as information and communication technologies, the hospitality industry and the management / marketing ...industry and are the electronic markets where e-business attracts consumers, partners and other e-commerce businesses on electronic platforms. Information and communications technology development and Internet developments have revolutionized the entire tourism industry, generating new business models, changing the structure of tourism-specific distribution channels, and redesigning all the processes involved in this industry, and last but not least , influencing suppliers of tourist packages, destinations and stakeholders. Activities specific to virtual tourism imply the existence of tour operators, travel agencies and other entities with tourism-related interests in the virtual space through a specialized portal. The phenomenon itself has implications for both the tourist services consumer and those listed above. In recent years, more and more cultural institutions in Romania are trying to attract visitors through virtual tours organized on their own website.
This study aims to assess the incorporation of virtual reality (VR) photography into the web-based immersive application “virtual interactive campus tour (VICT).” This application offers users an ...immersive experience, allowing them to virtually explore university campuses and access information about the facilities and services available. The VICT application offers a cost-effective, attractive, and sustainable alternative for universities to display their resources and interact with potential students. Through black box testing, we conducted user acceptance testing (UAT) and functionality testing, confirming the application’s readiness for deployment and its capability to meet institutional and end-user requirements. This study also examined the potential for universities to use VR to meet the expectations of prospective students. The application is compatible with both desktop and mobile devices. The results indicated that the overall average validity score was 0.88, suggesting that the measure is valid. The validation results were thoroughly tested and reliable. This study emphasizes the potential of immersive web-based tours in higher education and aims to bridge the divide between virtual exploration and physical visits. By offering an immersive virtual campus experience, this innovative tool has the potential to revolutionize university marketing strategies, increase student engagement, and transform campus visit approaches.
COVID-19 has negatively affected the educational systems of most countries, most especially, private universities in Ghana. The study assessed the strategies adopted by private universities in Ghana ...for effective enrolment management practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. The descriptive qualitative research method was used to solicit primary data through interviews, document/system reviews, and observations from private universities. The study established that the private universities were able to deploy some strategies which had positive impact on enrolment management at the universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the strategies adopted include transition to the digital learning experience (using digital learning experience ZOOM, LOOM, Microsoft Team, and Google Meet); establishing an enrolment command center to coordinate and support the decision-making activities regarding students' access, recruitment, admission, persistence, retention, and completion during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond; and the deployment of virtual tour services by improving tour services virtually and making navigation points on the university websites. Furthermore, the use of social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and WhatsApp) and financial aid served as strategies for effective enrollment management. The findings of the study provide empirical and practical support and information for university administrators, academic advisors, educators, and researchers on the strategies that they can deploy for effective enrolment management practices in private universities during epidemics or pandemics and beyond.
In recent years a growing amount of research has shown interest in studying how virtual reality (VR) could be relevant in many fields. In this respect, VR has gained consideration throughout many ...applications such as education. Among other aims for its use in education, serious games based on VR were used to promote heritage and make students experience either far or inaccessible scenarios. Until now, VR-based applications have been mainly implemented using head mounted displays (HMD), which actually reduced their circulation. This gap is particularly remarkable in the current Sars-CoV19 pandemic because students, being at home or being at school without sharing equipment, cannot exploit educational programs based on this technology. The current paper proposes a web-based platform on which VR applications could be accessed on any device, either desktop- or mobile-based. The serious game was initially set up on a computer with a specialized software using a HMD, while the process of turning it into a web-based platform is described so that the used methodology could be available to those, who would like to follow it. This project is probably also able to cope with the general aim of making inaccessible objects available to students and, thus, to make the application useful even beyond the current pandemic emergency.
El proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje en las distintas instancias educativas evalúa la necesidad de fomentar el conocimiento y la valoración de las manifestaciones artísticas más importantes del ...patrimonio cultural. Es esencial encontrar formas efectivas para promover experiencias relacionadas con el arte dirigidas a los estudiantes, en las que se desarrollen las inteligencias múltiples, especialmente la espacial. En este sentido, los recorridos virtuales se presentan como una herramienta importante para apreciar el arte desde cualquier lugar del mundo; esta metodología permite explorar los espacios virtualmente y así adquirir conocimiento a partir del acervo cultural de las distintas instituciones museísticas. En este artículo se expone un ejercicio de identificación del impacto que tiene el uso de la tecnología en los ámbitos educativos artístico-culturales. Para desarrollar esta pesquisa se hace una revisión bibliográfica de los conceptos y categorías que versan la investigación. A continuación, se describe la metodología empleada basada en el análisis cualitativo de la información. Luego, se analiza la experiencia de tres museos de la ciudad de Quito: Museo Casa Guayasamín, Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural y Museo Interactivo de Ciencias (MIC), los cuales ofrecen recorridos virtuales para todo el público. Por último, se enuncian las conclusiones y las referencias bibliográficas.
In this paper, a numerical modelling-based damage diagnostics methodology is proposed for cultural heritage structures (CHSs) made of masonry. Firstly, an integration of 3D documentation data (i.e. ...point clouds and virtual tours) is developed for the rapid numerical model generation of CHSs. This allows to directly exploit non-comprehensive point clouds (e.g., associated to outer surfaces only) for the solid finite element model generation, where the lacking information is merged with off-site interactive and immersive frameworks. Secondly, a number of nonlinear static and dynamic analyses are conducted on the generated solid model to account for various load scenarios (e.g., earthquakes, soil settlements, etc.), considering a nonlinear continuum constitutive law. Thirdly, a crack pattern matching indicator is introduced to quantitatively identify the most likely load scenario which originated the damage pattern present in the CHS, by comparing numerical and actual crack patterns. The proposed methodology allows to rapidly generate and extract the numerical model that reflects the current (damaged) state of the CHS. This also allows to identify the parts of the CHS susceptible to further damage. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is promisingly assessed on an actual historical masonry structure, the Morris Island lighthouse in South Carolina (USA).
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