E-Learning Documentation of Historical Living Systems with 3-D Modeling Functionality

The innovations and improvements in digital imaging sensors and scanners, computer modeling, haptic equipments and e-learning technology, as well as the availability of many powerful graphics PCs and workstations make haptic-based rendering methods for e-learning documentation with 3-D modeling functionality feasible. E-Learning documentation is a new term in computing, engineering and architecture, related to digital documentation with e-learning functionality, and introduced to literature for the first time within this paper. In particular, for the historical living systems (architectures, monuments, cultural heritage sites), such a methodolgy must be able to derive pictorial, geometric, spatial, topological, learning and semantic information from the target architectural object (historical living system), in such a way that it can be directly used for elearning purposes regarding the history, the architecture, the structure and the temporal (time-based) 3-D geometry of the projected historical living system. A practical project is used to demonstrate the functionality and the performance of the proposed methodology. In particular, the processing steps from image acquisition to e-learning documentation of the Aghios Achilleios basilica, twin lakes Prespes, Northern Greece, through its 3-D geometric CAAD (Computer-Aided Architectural Design) model and semantic description are presented. Also, emphasis is placed on introducing and documenting the new term e-learning documentation. Finaly, for learning purposes related to 3-D modeling accuracy evaluation, a comparison test of two image-based approaches is carried out and discussed.