Virtual Reality Approach for Geoparks Fruition During SARS-Cov2 Pandemic Situation: Methodological Notes and First Results

Abstract

In recent decades there has been a growing interest in geological heritage conservation and management. In 2015, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) created the new label UNESCO Global Geoparks to identify all areas of international geological significance where landscapes and single geosites are managed with a holistic, bottom-up approach to ensure protection, sustainable management, and education activities. With the advent of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic, many countries and organisations have put lockdown and other mobility restrictions in place. During this period, the need for new methodologies for the study was perceived and the fruition of the geosites and, more in general, of geological processes and their visible signs. This paper presents the first results of an ongoing activity carried out in several geosites of different Geoparks and aimed at providing virtual-reality tools to assist in studying the geological heritage. To this end, we propose an integrated approach between different sensors to the survey of geosites, 3D modelling, and VR reconstruction. Moreover, we proposed the development of a platform for the exploitation of the obtained data.