Discover EM
EM ID card
Name: Extended Matrix Method
Date of birth: 2015
Definition: Open Source method, developed by the DHILab (ISPC, CNR of Rome) and the Extended Matrix Community, which aims to visually map and represent both the scientific workflow and the reliability status of a 3D reconstruction
Status: stable release v. 1.3 (v. 1.4 under development)
EM in a nutshell
The concept of the Extended Matrix (EM) was formalized by Emanuel Demetrescu, at the CNR of Rome within a Ph.D project, with the intent of mapping the reliability of a 3D reconstruction.. [expand to read more]
The method was conceived as an Open Science approach, with relevance to:
transparency of the 3D reconstruction process;
scientificity of the method;
possibility of sharing online the results.
The EM method was elaborated as a formal language, with rules and symbols, to be used for mapping reasonings and data used during a 3D reconstruction process.
The Extended Matrix Framework (EMF), the entire ecosystem realized around the EM, includes functional software solutions suitable for:
creating a connection between the 3D scene, realized in Blender, and the EM (i.e., using Extended Matrix Tools), while modeling;
editing 3D data within Blender (i.e., using 3D Survey Collection);
representing and sharing online 3D models (i.e., using Aton).
Today, the EM is developed at the CNR of Rome (Digital Heritage Innovation Laboratory - DHILab), by E. Demetrescu, and it is employed in several reconstructive projects.
Since 2020 an international community has been created (the Extended Matrix Community) for supporting activities such as: development of the method, integration of the EM within different field of research, update of the documentation, dissemination, support etc..
References
EM Method: E. Demetrescu, Archaeological stratigraphy as a formal language for virtual reconstruction. Theory and practice. Journal of Archaeological Science 57, pp. 42-55, 2015. [preprint download], [link to Science Direct], [BibTex].
EM 1.1: E. Demetrescu, B. Fanini (2017), A White-Box Framework to Oversee Archaeological Virtual Reconstructions in Space and Time: Methods and Tools. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 14: 500–514, 2017. [preprint download], [link to Science Direct], [BibTex]
EM 1.2: E. Demetrescu, D.Ferdani (2021), From Field Archaeology to Virtual Reconstruction: A Five Steps Method Using the Extended Matrix. Applied Sciences 11:11, 2021. [link to MDPI], [BibTex]