Who are we? Where are we going?
The history of the Visual Computing Lab of CNR-ISTI began more than 25 years ago, with the friendship and collaboration of Claudio Montani (first head of the lab and former CNR-ISTI Director) and Roberto Scopigno (former head of the VClab, now CNR-ISTI Director). Paolo Cignoni, joined the laboratory at its beginning, and now heads the laboratory.
We have initially focused on scientific visualization, then moved to geometry processing, multiresolution representation / visualization, deformable models, 3D digitization, texturing and mesh parameterization.
Currently, our main application domain is Cultural Heritage (that is a rather natural choice since we live in Tuscany), including virtual museums, restoration, documentation and rapid reproduction.
Only a minority of the lab members have permanent positions, most of members' salaries are paid by several research projects (EC, Regional and National funds).
Research activity at VC Lab spreads several themes:
3D/2D Digitization
This is a consolidated topic of interest for the lab, with many results produced concerning both 3D digitization (scanning systems, algorithms for raw data processing, etc) and 2D methods (here our activity mostly focused on advanced 2D media, such as Reflection Transformation Images and panoramic images). more...
Geometry Processing
Our activity on Geometry Processing includes methodologies for shape analysis and characterization, mesh parametrization and its applications. First, we aim to apply such techniques for re-meshing, compression and visualization. This includes quadrilateral mesh generation (useful in the entertainment industry, architectural modeling more...
Interactive Graphics
This branch focuses on interactive algorithms and applications for Computer Graphics, mainly focusing on real-time rendering constraints, with the term rendering intended in a broad sense (photorealistic, massive data management, ad-hoc solutions for presentation purposes). Solutions are designed for both desktop and mobile devices; the design of multiresolution data management solutions is a basic resource for many projects in this strand more...
3D Graphics for Cultural Heritage
This thread is focused on the use of cutting-edge Computer Graphics for the support of Cultural Heritage. This includes not only the presentation of artifacts to the public, but also the development, experimentation and dissemination of new algorithms and tools to help the experts (art historians, restorers, archeologists) in their everyday work. more...
3D Fabrication
The main aim of industrial prototyping is to create a tangible representation of an arbitrary digital geometry. In this thread we mainly focus on solving the limitations of current 3D printing technologies. Moreover, we are also interested in leveraging the potential of computational fabrication techniques for the creation of advanced functional artifacts. more...
News
Best paper award at UNDERWATER 3D RECORDING & MODELLING
May 13th 2019
The paper 'Semantic Segmentation of Benthic Communities from Ortho-mosaic Maps' by G. Pavoni, M. Corsini, M. Callieri, M. Palma and R. Scopigno, presented at the 2nd international conference Underwater 3D Recording and Modelling - A Tool for Modern Applications and CH Recording has been considered among the best papers at the conference.
Matteo Dellepiane passed away....
Jan 15th 2019
Our dear friend and colleague Matteo Dellepiane passed away on January 13th, 2019, after fighting a few months with a cancer.
He was an extraordinary person in all sides of his personality.
He leaves a huge empty space in our lab and in his family.
To honor his memory, we have created a web page , to allow any of his colleagues/friends to leave his memory on Matteo.
Visual Computing Lab won two Award EG-Italy Awards for the best thesis in visual computing
Sep 19th, 2018
Matteo Bracci and Thomas Alderighi have won both the two the EG-Italy Awards for the best Bachelor and Master thesis in visual computing
Matteo's thesis described the development of HexaLab an innovative WebGL application for real time visualization, exploration and assessment of hexahedral. The system runs directly in a web browser and targets both users and scholars who employ hexahedral meshesfor Finite Element Analysis, and allows to readily inspect and check mesh quality, assessing its usability for simulations.
Thomas's thesis described MetaMolds a novel technique for the fabrication of digital objects through reusable silicone molds. This new method allows for the automatic generation of special 3D printable structures, called Metamolds, that are used as a rigid mold for the silicone mold parts, automatically determining the mold shape given an input digital object.
