Just a few years ago, virtual reality was regarded as more a toy than a tool. Today, however, it is becoming the enabling technology for man-machine communications. The rapid development of graphics hardware and soft­ ware makes its application possible. Besides building walkthroughs and landscape fly-overs with very realistic visual effects, we can recognize the trend toward industrial applications. This is because of the emerging need for tools for rapid product development. Especially in the aeronautical and automotive industries, companies have began to investigate and develop virtual reality tools for their own needs in co-operation with research or­ ganizations. In co-operation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics (IGD), the Computer Graphics Center (ZGDV) in Darmstadt established the German working group on virtual reality in 1993 as a forum for infor­ mation exchange between industry and research. German researchers, system developers, and industrial users have met several times in Darm­ stadt at the Computer Graphics Center. In these meetings they discussed the essential issues inherent in applying virtual reality to industrial appli­ cations and exchanged their latest research results and experiences.

This book discusses how the role of traditional construction professional is changing, providing a useful guide for practitioners who would like to upskill themselves. Lately, core concepts and methodologies for the Built Environment are presented providing definitions and applications on Building Information Modelling, Computational Design, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Data Analytics and Visualization, Lean Construction, Advanced Project Management, Sustainability, Geographical Information Systems, Advanced Business Models, Disaster Management, Quality Management, Health and Safety and Legal prospective.

Are Western epistemology, metaphysics, methodology and the philosophy of science grounded only in men's distinctive understandings of themselves, others, and nature? Does this less than human understanding distort our models of reason and of scientific inquiry? In different ways, the papers in this collection explore the evidence for these increasingly reasonable and intriguing questions. They identify how it is distinctively masculine perspectives on masculine experience which have shaped the most fundamental and formal aspects of systematic thought in philosophy and the natural and social sciences - precisely the aspects of thought believed most gender-neutral. They show how these understandings ground Aristotle's biology and metaphysics; the very definition of the problems of philosophy in Plato, Descartes, Hobbes and Rousseau; the `adversary method' which is the paradigm of philosophic and scientific reasoning; principles of individuation in philosophical ontology and the philosophy of language; individualistic assumptions in psychology; functionalism in sociological and biological theory; evolutionary theory; the methodology of political science; Marxist political economy; and conceptions of `objective inquiry' in the social and natural sciences. These essays also begin to identify for us the distictive aspects of women's experience which can provide the resources needed for the creation of a truly human understanding.

This book addresses the role of modern surveying and representation technologies in preserving and disseminating cultural heritage. A workflow is illustrated, describing the Former Monastery of Ss Severino and Sossio case study, currently the headquarters of the State Archives of Naples, Italy. After offering a historical overview, the work examines the spaces and structure of the building. A methodology for three-dimensional restitution is presented, using low-cost image-based and professional range-based surveying, concluding with recent AI technologies such as NeRF. The research continues with the virtual and augmented restitution of parts of the building that have been modified, lost over the centuries, or are no longer accessible. The Atrio dei Marmi, the Atrio del Platano, and the Sala del Capitolo and Sala del Refettorio are some of the places where the research has focused, creating a BIM model, using AR for precise interventions, and developing an immersive applied game to understand the third level of the monastery, rich in works of art and today also serving as a museum. In the final chapters, a particular focus is placed on the future of representation: new techniques, ongoing developments in AI supporting surveying, and the new possibilities offered by virtual spaces.