Events The 1st International Online Conference on Non-Destructive Testing

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Published

This submission belongs to the session S1. Digitalization of NDT Data of the event The 1st International Online Conference on Non-Destructive Testing

Published date

26 Jun, 2026

Academic Editor

Fabio Tosti

Citation

Delphina Naa Darkoa Darko, Omar Abdillahi Osman, Mohammad Kargar, Moein Motavallizadeh Naeini, Saeed Parnow, Malte Ressin, Tesfaye Tessema, Atif Mohammed Ghani, Fabio Tosti, Neil Linford, Alba L’Astorina, David Daou, Sebastiano D’Amico, Ilaria Catapano, Digitalisation and Multi-Modal Integration of NDT and Remote Sensing Data for Coastal Heritage Monitoring: The Reculver Towers Demonstrator, in Proceedings of The 1st International Online Conference on Non-Destructive Testing, 1 July–3 July 2026, MDPI: Basel, Switzerland

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Digitalisation and Multi-Modal Integration of NDT and Remote Sensing Data for Coastal Heritage Monitoring: The Reculver Towers Demonstrator

Delphina Naa Darkoa Darko ^1,2

Omar Abdillahi Osman ^1,2

Mohammad Kargar ^1,2

Moein Motavallizadeh Naeini ^1,2

Saeed Parnow ^1,2

Malte Ressin ^1,2

Tesfaye Tessema ^1,2

Ilaria Catapano ³

Sebastiano D’Amico ⁴

David Daou ⁵

Atif Mohammed Ghani ⁶

Alba L’Astorina ³

Neil Linford ⁷

Fabio Tosti ^1,2

1. School of Computing and Engineering, University of West London, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain, UK

2. The Faringdon Research Centre for Non-Destructive Testing and Remote Sensing, University of West London, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain

3. National Research Council of Italy (CNR) - Institute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment (IREA), Naples, Italy, UK

4. Faculty of Science, University of Malta, Geosciences Department, Msida, Malta, UK

5. Institute for Environment and Human Security, United Nations University (UNU-EHS), Bonn, Germany, UK

6. Royal College of Art, School of Communication, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain, UK

7. Historic England, Geophysics Team, Portsmouth, United Kingdom of Great Britain, UK

Abstract

The digitalisation of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) data is critical for the preservation of heritage assets. This paper presents the technical development of a digital demonstrator for the British Academy-funded project, BLUE-HeArTS (BLUE Heritage through Art, Technology, and Science), which connects scientific monitoring with artistic narratives.

This study focuses on the Reculver Towers in Kent, UK, a heritage site highly vulnerable to coastal erosion. A 3D Unity model was engineered, integrating high-resolution laser scans of the towers with surface-related remote-sensing data such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Land Surface Temperature maps.

Additionally, the model also incorporates topographically corrected Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) radargrams to visualise the structural integrity of sea defence areas ¹. By digitalising these datasets, the system allows for a holistic assessment of climate-driven risks ^{2, 3}.

Technical viability was evaluated using established geospatial extended reality metrics ⁴. This formed the basis for frame-rate profiling and processing unit utilisation across different hardware configurations to measure efficiency while preventing motion sickness⁴.

Initial results demonstrate that integrating dense GPR and hyperspectral data offers a novel diagnostic tool, though rendering complexity remains a primary bottleneck, underscoring the need for optimisation in heritage conservation digitisation workflows.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the project BLUE-HeArTS (January – September 2026), funded by the British Academy under the "Pump Priming Collaboration between UK and EU Partners 2026" programme (Award Reference: PPHE26\100311). This research was supported by the Vice-Chancellor’s PhD Scholarship at the University of West London.

References

[1] N. Linford, Historic England 2020.

[2] A. Ghani, 2024.

[3] F. Tosti, I. Catapano, A. M. Ghani, D. Daou, S. D'Amico, A. Lastorina, N. Linford, M. Naeini , T. Tessema, 2026.

[4] E. Atsakpo, F. Mercogliano, S. Uzor, P. Saadati, A. Barone, F. Accomando, R. Castaldo, I. Catapano, P. Tizzani , F. Tosti, 2025.

Keywords

Digitalisation

NDT Data Fusion

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)

Remote Sensing

Unity 3D

Coastal Heritage Monitoring

Oral Presentation

The Reculver Towers Demonstrator (5).pptx

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