An inclusive approach to Digital Heritage for knowledge and conservation of European assets: the INCEPTION project

One of the main challenges to be faced at European level is to contribute to an understanding of cultural identity. In this direction, new technologies and digital cultural heritage should play an innovative role, enhancing heritage accessibility for as many people as possible by using ICT functionalities and applications. Nevertheless, we are witnessing to a more and more growing dichotomy between engaging user experiences and the enrichment of the scientific knowledge. Within this framework, the EU funded project “INCEPTION - Inclusive Cultural Heritage in Europe through 3D Semantic Modelling” is consistently aligned by accomplishing the main objectives of accessing, understanding and strengthening European cultural heritage by means of enriched 3D models where semantic attributes are linked to geometric models for management of heritage information. The interdisciplinary and user-centred project aims at developing an innovative approach for creating interoperable 3D semantic models in H-BIM environment to be collected and shared on the INCEPTION Platform for visualization, management, deployment and valorisation of heritage buildings and sites. Advanced 3D documentation methodologies identifying different “layers” of data to be surveyed and managed, and semantic ontology and data structure for information catalogue allow accomplishing the main objectives of knowledge, protection, conservation, monitoring and safeguarding of assets, respecting values of the pre-existing.