Solar glare on roads is responsible for momentaneous deterioration of a driver’s view, interfering with driving capacity and causing accidents. The situation of a driver being affected by solar glare on a road is a spatial-temporal variable, since it depends not only on the time of the day and the day of the year, which are determinant for the local Sun position (temporal factors), but also on the local slope and azimuth of the road in the driven direction (spatial factors). The present work describes a method for producing road glare maps along a road network, as well as retrieving glare information from urban roads so that solar glare vulnerability can be easily accessed. Input data are a 1m resolution Digital Surface Model from Light Detection and Ranging data and the road network. Spatial parameters are processed in a Geographic Information System environment. The Urban Glare Algorithm detects glare and outputs temporal matrices and glare maps. Shadows cast by buildings and trees are considered as well as the driver’s eyes height. The method is tested in an area of Lisbon (Portugal). This work is a contribution to road safety systems implementation and constitutes a relevant basis for warning drivers of glare through car navigation systems.

As a part of a multidisciplinary and integrated research, including conservation sciences and history, a proposal is presented for the historical reconstitution and the virtual restoration of the mannerist altarpiece of the main altar at the Espírito Santo Church, in Évora. The collected data is abundant and the scientific information, because of its technicality, is less prone to be easily understood by the general public, thus becoming less accessible. Web-based infographics are explored as privileged forms of disseminating results and raising awareness to Cultural Heritage. The project materializes as an Internet platform where data and a reconstitution proposal are shared in a visual and interactive way. In addition to the digital virtual reconstitution (2D), some tridimensional models (3D) are presented of various elements of the altarpiece, obtained using methods of computer graphics and digital photogrammetry. Resumo No desenvolvimento de uma investigação multidisciplinar e integrada, que incluiu as ciências da conservação e a história, apresenta-se uma proposta para a reconstituição histórica e o restauro virtual do retábulo maneirista do altar-mor da Igreja do Espírito Santo, em Évora. Neste tipo de estudo os dados recolhidos são abundantes e a informação científica, pelo seu caráter técnico especializado, nem sempre tem leitura direta, sendo menos acessível ao público em geral. Explorou-se a infografia web-based como forma privilegiada de divulgação dos resultados e valorização do Património Cultural. O projeto materializou-se numa plataforma digital (web site) onde se pretendeu partilhar os dados e uma proposta de interpretação, com conteúdo visual e interativo. Além da vertente de reconstituição virtual digital (2D), fizeram-se também alguns modelos tridimensionais (3D) de diversos elementos do retábulo, obtidos por fotogrametria digital e operações de computação gráfica.

This paper describes the application of 3D digital technology to support the rebuild of lost decorative elements of an historical frame. The frame belongs to an 18th century painting depicting the portrait of D. José, Prince of Brazil, displayed at the National Palace of Queluz, Portugal. The application of digital technologies has been planned from the very beginning in order to avoid the traditional use of silicone in the reproduction of missing elements. The photogrammetric 3D acquisition, a non-contact methodology, has been used to reduce the manipulation and hence prevent further degradation of the artistic object. Following the 3D modelling operation, new decorative elements were made using an additive printing technology. In the final phase of the work, the post-printing treatment was carried out, in which aqueous products were used. 3D modelling, in addition to facilitate the restoration treatment of the historic frame, can also be useful in the creation of a digital collection of decorative frame elements, i.e. a virtual database.

This paper on Conservation of Cultural Heritage explores the use of spatial analysis functions for fe ature extraction. The study evaluates the performance of neighbourhood functions for the delimitation of a tear in a thangka painting. The pathology area was documented with a non-conventional technique in painting conservation.

The present article intends to present a model for the documentation and registry used in the diagnosis and intervention stages in conservation and restoration (C&R) of a set of twelve works by Adriano de Sousa Lopes, from the collection of the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Lisbon (FBAUL). To this end, a free and open access geographic information system (GIS) software called QGIS® was used. During the analysis, several vector maps were produced, both for diagnosis and for conservation and restoration treatments (CR), namely the microcracks network, areas of loss, consolidation areas, textile microsurgery and chemical cleaning. The quantitative results obtained from the spatial analyses of the pictorial surfaces were recorded in the GIS database. Finally, it was verified that the technical study of works with the QGIS(R) program contemplates a spatial perception of the works of art for evidencing, in a systematic and integrated way, the phenomena of alteration of the pieces under analysis.