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Virtual Heritage: What Next?
Abstract
Virtual heritage is the use of computer-based interactive
technologies to record, preserve or recreate artifacts, sites and actors
of historic, artistic, religious and cultural significance and to
deliver the results openly to a global audience in such a way as to
provide formative educational experiences through electronic
manipulations of time and space. Where do we go from here, and what can
we expect in the next decade? Already we're witnessing the evolution of
systems making virtual reality (VR) accessible to social and working
groups for applications hitherto considered out of the question. For
those with just a basic PC and access to the Web, VR is now a technology
that promotes active participation, through contributions to virtual
libraries or repositories, or becoming involved as avatars (virtual
humans) in shared electronic communities. We can now harness the power
of video games engines, backed up with tutorials, patches and 3D model
libraries from the Web. VR is no longer a limited sensory experience,
accessible to a few fortunate individuals. Neither is it a technology
destined to replace the real experience of traveling to a historical
site or museum and experiencing the true ambience and splendor of the
past first-hand. It's a means by which we can increase our understanding
of (and respect for) our sociological, cultural and natural past, with
the ultimate aim of making our future a more rewarding experience for
those yet to come
... Why VR for cultural heritage and why now? Endeavours for Virtual Heritage in the late 1990s [44,46] have been progressing for two decades. The original aim of Virtual Heritage was for non-intrusive access to cultural heritage sites [46]. ...
... Endeavours for Virtual Heritage in the late 1990s [44,46] have been progressing for two decades. The original aim of Virtual Heritage was for non-intrusive access to cultural heritage sites [46]. The early days of the domain saw many reconstructions and some actual three-dimensional (3D) laser scans of sites integrated into VR systems for access, in fact, there were more reconstructions of models than there was actual VR experience. ...
This paper attempts to understand how present Virtual Reality (VR) environments can contribute to enhancing the communication of cultural heritage by providing an experience of the past that is acceptable for the younger generation, and how museums and cultural institutions should adopt and use such technologies. Aspects of acceptance, experience and expectation of VR with the underlying values are not well understood but is important for the sustainability of the communication of cultural heritage as a bequest to future generations. We conducted a combined quantitative-qualitative study on the participants who have various prior experience with gaming and VR, and different levels of knowledge about the history presented within the virtual environment. This study is to investigate how participants accept and are stimulated in terms of personal experience, and their expectations and ideas for the future of museums if VR is used for enhancing the learning of cultural heritage. Prior gaming and VR experience were investigated to see if they do indeed influence the preference for using VR for learning cultural heritage. We demonstrated that particular age groups and background are especially agreeable to virtual reality as environments for learning and experiencing cultural heritage, regardless of their knowledge of the historical context of the virtually reconstructed site. Our findings also revealed important behaviours in our demographics group with regards to user preferred length of time, the believability of the virtual environment and how it influences aspects of their experience such as the exploration of the heritage site, familiarity and meaning making. The study has implications for the use of VR for enhancing the experience of cultural heritage in museums and cultural institutions.
... Virtual reality, mixed reality, and augmented reality projects also provide tantalizing new ways of engaging the public with the past [5]. As simulations, scholars might modify them to verify or refute historical hypotheses, testing either data or methods. ...
... As mentioned above, virtual heritage (VH) is commonly used to describe projects that combine virtual reality (VR) and cultural heritage [12,13]. Stone and Ojika [5] defined virtual heritage as "the use of computer-based interactive technologies to record, preserve, or recreate artefacts, sites, and actors of historic, artistic, religious, and cultural significance and to deliver the results openly to a global audience in such a way as to provide formative educational experiences through electronic manipulation of time and space". Various commentators and charters (London, Seville) have also stated that the success of a VH (Virtual Heritage) project depends on 3D models and associated scholarly content [14,15]. ...
If virtual heritage is the application of virtual reality to cultural heritage, then one might assume that virtual heritage (and 3D digital heritage in general) successfully communicates the need to preserve the cultural significance of physical artefacts and intangible heritage. However, digital heritage models are seldom seen outside of conference presentations, one-off museum exhibitions, or digital reconstructions used in films and television programs. To understand why, we surveyed 1483 digital heritage papers published in 14 recent proceedings. Only 264 explicitly mentioned 3D models and related assets; 19 contained links, but none of these links worked. This is clearly not sustainable, neither for scholarly activity nor as a way to engage the public in heritage preservation. To encourage more sustainable research practices, 3D models must be actively promoted as scholarly resources. In this paper, we also recommend ways researchers could better sustain these 3D models and assets both as digital cultural artefacts and as tools to help the public explore the vital but often overlooked relationship between built heritage and the natural world.
... Virtual heritage is a term used to describe works that utilise information technology to preserve cultural heritage artefacts through replication, visualisation, or simulation using computer graphic technology [1,[7][8][9]. Often, the artefacts will be re-created or visualised in 3D forms and displayed using virtual reality application. The type of cultural heritage artefacts involved in virtual heritage projects varies, ranging from the reconstruction of historic buildings (architectural heritage), historic monuments or relics of cultural value, and historical sites to the simulation of intangible heritage. ...
... When it comes to learning, the design of virtual heritage environment should provide a method of communicating cultural significance to the public [28,29] Nevertheless, works that support the development of virtual heritage environments for cultural learning provide no suggestions on how to design such environments. For example, Stone and Ojika [8] stated the aim of virtual heritage as a means to provide formative educational experiences. However, no description or suggestion is provided on the characteristic of the formative educational experience or the design of the learning environment that communicates the intended pedagogical aims. ...
Virtual environment has the potential to be used as a medium to facilitate cultural learning. However, this requires guidelines on how to design the environment. This article provides a conceptual framework that guides the design of a virtual environment that facilitates cultural learning for casual users. The exploratory sequential mixed-method design approach was used as the basis for the overall research design. Five studies involving experts and end users were performed to identify and evaluate the framework components. The framework consists of four important components: i) Information Design ii) Information Presentation iii) Navigation Mechanism and iv) Environment Setting, and outlines two types of design elements; basic elements which are essential for cultural learning to take place, and extended elements which provide options for enhanced user experience. Results from the framework evaluation suggest that the proposed design elements are useful in facilitating learning and that the experience of using the virtual environment affected the end users sense of awareness and appreciation towards heritage value and preservation.
... Some of studies related with supporting the experience and safeguarding cultural heritage, were published in the late 90's. (Addison, 2000;Ronchi, 1997;Stone & Ojika, 2000;Sutherland & Ojika, 1997), are some of the first articles in which the use of interactive computer-based technologies were used (eg. virtual reality) to preserve or recreate locations, historical or religious events, artifacts or any other type of culture. ...
The purpose of this article is to present a quantitative study in order to identify the themes developed in the area of videogames and cultural heritage in the period from 2010 to the beginning of 2021. Using the Scopus database, two surveys were carried out on the relationship between videogames and cultural heritage, which resulted in a selection of 993 publications and another of 93 publications. Then all data was classified according to the type of co-occurrence analysis based on the keywords, co-authorship and visual maps were created using the VOSViewer software. Conclusions: videogames and cultural heritage literature has grown continuously in the last ten years. Virtual reality, serious games and human-computer interaction are the most common areas and together with themes such as augmented reality and gamification will be the trends to be explored in the future. This review certainly can provide a reference point for further research relating to video games and cultural heritage.
... In other words, it is "the use of computer-based interactive technologies to record, preserve, or recreate artefacts, sites and actors of historic, artistic, religious, and cultural significance and to deliver the results openly to a global audience in such a way as to provide formative educational experiences through electronic manipulations of time and space". 2 Virtualised objects are object models generated from the physical world that surrounds us and the result is placed in a computer's memory, but the generation process of virtualised objects is different. Hence, virtualised objects or environments result from a measurement process. ...
Background: Throughout the history of the city, the architecture of Alexandria, Egypt, has been in contact with world cultures, especially those of the Mediterranean sphere. Alexandria is rich with cultural features dating back seven thousand years. In Alexandria, the heritage value of the city has decreased since the beginning of the third millennium of the Common Era because there is no suitable digital documentation system for these more recent assets. The development of a new technique for preserving heritage buildings is required. For example, image- based techniques can gather data using photography, panoramic photography, and close-range photogrammetry.
In this research, we primarily seek to implement Heritage Digitisation Process Phases (HDPP) by introducing both the Building Information Modelling (BIM) environment and the point clouds for achieving a Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) model and to establish new documentation methods in architectural conservation and built-heritage preservation, i.e., Virtual Reality (VR) and Website Heritage Documentation (WHD).
Methods: The methodology is designed to preserve and manage cultural heritage using HDPP for the promotion of heritage building preservation in Alexandria.
Results: The results show that the application of HDPP has led to the creation of a digital database about the Société Immobilière building, which was chosen as a case study for this research.
Conclusions: Implementation of HDPP and usage of new documentation methods i.e., VR and WHD create a digital path to help strengthen its image and connect the place to users, recreational areas are created to communicate and explore the city’s architectural history.
... Interactions with virtual objects can support active engagement with objects within the environment. This satisfies the objective of virtual heritage research that provides educational experiences through manipulations of time and spaces (Ch'ng 2009; Stone and Ojika 2000). Therefore, we believe that it is through interaction design that we define the uniqueness and advantage of virtual objects. ...
The emulation of social environments within which ideas, knowledge and interpretation are exchanged is a challenge for Extended Reality (XR) technologies. One aspect of the challenge is the concept of Extended Reality itself, and this within the broad spectrum of the physical and virtual reality continuum. As users settle down into the spectrum via their preferred devices, so must we investigate the viability of communication between users adopting different modes of XR. In this chapter, we discuss three attributes of virtual objects and explore the concept of a Hybrid Virtual and Augmented Reality (HVAR) environment. We look at how users from different realities could interact, engage and communicate in a shared space via objects. We believe that the use of HVAR environments is the way forward for connecting worlds, and that it will facilitate future communications around virtual objects, developing and flourishing across time, space and devices, much like how social media has facilitated user-generated contents, empowering individual interpretations and the formation of collective meanings. The concept of a hybrid space aims to gather communities from disparate backgrounds and cultures, and to facilitate discussions around objects of interest.KeywordsExtended realityVirtual realityAugmented realityDigital heritageVirtual heritage
... Virtual heritage is defined by Stone and Ojika [48] as "the use of computer-based interactive technologies to record, preserve, or recreate artefacts, sites, and actors of historic, artistic, religious, and cultural significance and to deliver the results openly to a global audience in such a way as to provide formative educational experiences through electronic manipulation of time and space". ...
This paper describes an innovative, accessible, and sustainable method for enhancing cultural heritage. Documenting and disseminating the public works heritage have now come of age, digitally speaking, with the adoption of new technologies both to further research on and heighten the esteem attributed to the public works heritage. Nonetheless, academic discourse rarely describes procedures for the 3D digitisation of heritage works comprehensible to non-expert readers with limited resources. Taking that premise as a starting point, with special attention to the determinants of the public works heritage, this article aims to define the general, open-source methodology covering 3D model data capture, information processing and optimisation. The article also discusses model dissemination strategies using free platforms and low-cost tools. The general discussion is illustrated with the case study of Ariza Bridge in Spain. This Renaissance-style structure dates from the second half of the sixteenth century. Despite its listing as a cultural heritage asset, the monument was flooded by the Giribaile reservoir waters in 1998 and is now only wholly visible during droughts. The application, developed with open-source software and implemented with free platforms and low-cost tools, features geo-referencing and is designed to be accessible to non-expert users. The methodology proposed is intended as a suitable instrument for the sustainable study, valorisation and dissemination of the built heritage.
... VR has been instrumental in the development of the field of virtual heritage. It opens up a new form of public and scientific communication, in particular for historical objects and monuments that are either already damaged, destroyed, or too far away from potential interested visitors (Addison 2000;Stone and Ojika 2000;Affleck and Thomas 2005). Polimeris and Calfoglou (2016) attempt to shed some further light on the potency of the digital medium virtual reality by conducting a small-scale research, comparing the effects of diverse modes of presentation of the cultural tourism product on respondents' choice of a cultural tourism destination. ...
Technological advancements in the area of Virtual Reality (VR) in the past years have the potential to fundamentally impact our everyday lives. VR makes it possible to explore a digital world with a Head-Mounted Display (HMD) in an immersive, embodied way. In combination with current tools for 3D documentation, modelling and software for creating interactive virtual worlds, VR has the means to play an important role in the conservation and visualisation of cultural heritage (CH) for museums, educational institutions and other cultural areas. Corresponding game engines offer tools for interactive 3D visualisation of CH objects, which makes a new form of knowledge transfer possible with the direct participation of users in the virtual world. However, to ensure smooth and optimal real-time visualisation of the data in the HMD, VR applications should run at 90 frames per second. This frame rate is dependent on several criteria including the amount of data or number of dynamic objects. In this contribution, the performance of a VR application has been investigated using different digital 3D models of the fortress Al Zubarah in Qatar with various resolutions. We demonstrate the influence on real-time performance by the amount of data and the hardware equipment and that developers of VR applications should find a compromise between the amount of data and the available computer hardware, to guarantee a smooth real-time visualisation with approx. 90 fps (frames per second). Therefore, CAD models offer a better performance for real-time VR visualisation than meshed models due to the significant reduced data volume.
... Cultural heritage is becoming an important application for employing virtual reality technology. Virtual heritage refers to the use of computer-based interactive technology to record, preserve, or recreate artefacts, sites, and actors of historic, artistic, religious, and cultural significance and to deliver the results openly to a global audience and provide formative educational experiences through electronic manipulations of time and space (Stone & Ojika, 2000). ...
As audience-oriented and information-driven organisations, museums are embracing the Internet and interactive technology for developing virtual museums by encouraging the participation of the users in cultural activities. Technology does not exist per se being socially shaped. Museums have the opportunity to promote social innovation by developing technology and opening up to the audience as an active participant in the definition of cultural contents emphasising the interaction and communication between museums and their users. The Internet and interactive technology help museums to drive service innovation by opening up to the participation of the audience in defining cultural heritage contents. As virtual-oriented and technology-driven organisations, museums are becoming social, developing social spaces for innovation, selecting different pathways by managing information and knowledge sharing, developing interactive and virtual technology, building a shared authority on cultural heritage, involving the user as an active participant in co-production of cultural heritage knowledge.
... Virtual heritage is "the use of computer-based interactive technologies to record, preserve, or recreate artefacts, sites and actors of historic, artistic, religious, and cultural significance and to deliver the results openly to an audience in such way as to provide formative educational experiences through electronic manipulations of time and space" [33]. It involves a number of functions to facilitate the synthesis, conservation, reproduction, rep-resentation, digital reprocessing, and display of cultural evidence with the use of advanced VR imaging technologies [34]. ...
Public access to underwater and maritime cultural heritage has proven to have a very positive effect on the local economy. This type of heritage is very attractive for the cultural tourism sector in general and for active and diving tourism. The Nautical and Underwater Archeology Line of the University of Cadiz, within the framework of the TIDE Project (Interreg Atlantic Area) and Herakles Project (FEDER-UCA18-107327) have been working on the enhancement of maritime and underwater heritage through the application of new technologies. In this paper, we will present the advances in the project in the Strait of Gibraltar, based on the first phase of scientific analysis and on the definition of a common working methodology that has resulted in a toolkit for the development of tourism activities linked to the MCH and UCH. Pilot activities under development are focused on accessible underwater heritage routes, VR applications to create Dry Dive experiences and the streaming of underwater archaeological works, thanks to a bottom-surface acoustic communication buoy. Results show that these types of outreach solutions and, by extension, of tourism application, must be preceded by a rigorous archaeological research process, a study of the target audience and the evaluation of the carrying capacity of the sites, to avoid falling into the mercantilisation or deterioration of the UCH. On the other hand, virtual or indirect access solutions are very useful, but always through the correct interpretation of the heritage.
... An important aspect of the multiple values of cultural presence is the feeling of being 'there' and 'then' (ibid). Their research on cultural presence has focussed on the evaluation of cultural learning and neglected the aesthetic and artistic value of cultural presence, but the VH experience also relates to artistic, religious and cultural significance (Stone and Ojika, 2000). Cultural presence is a useful concept when used to evaluate the aesthetic experience in VH. ...
The intersection of virtual reality (VR) and cultural heritage, also described as Virtual Heritage (VH), is an example of a disciplinary ‘cross-fertilization’ between arts and technologies (Roussou, 2007: 225). Technological advances in communication systems have accelerated the advent of new aesthetic experiences. Digital technology has created a novel perceptual dimension for the viewers of VH that Erik Champion calls cultural presence (2006). The idea of immersive art goes back to the classical world, and it now reappears in the immersion strategies of today’s virtual art (Grau, 2003: 25). In order to investigate the aesthetic effects of cultural presence for the player in VH, this research takes 神游敦煌 ('Shenyou Dunhuang') 2018, a popular VH project from HTC Steam VR platform as a case study. The 敦煌莫高窟 (Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes) were included in the ‘World Cultural Heritage’ list by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as representative achievements of Buddhist art in ancient China. This research draws on data elicited through focus group discussion after the group’s members had experienced the VH. The researcher organised a group of participants playing Shenyou Dunhuang to discuss their aesthetic experience. The discussion text was encoded via Nvivo software. The aesthetic experience of the participants is examined and discussed through the frame of three sub-concepts: playfulness, realism and authenticity. In so doing this research discusses how the ambivalence of immersion and distance in art reception influences players’ cultural presence in VH.
... Here, we aim at facilitating access to an innovative application for reconstructing and exploring previously excavated sites by providing archaeologists with a device that directly interacts in situ with both virtual (formerly extracted) and real finds. From this perspective, the current approach contributes to what is called virtual heritage, i.e., the utilisation of computer-based interactive technologies to register, preserve or recreate artefacts and sites of cultural value [22]. ...
Archaeological excavation is a demolishing process. Rather few elements outlast extractive operations. Therefore, it is hard to visualise the precise location of unearthed finds at a previously excavated research area. Here, we present a mixed reality environment that displays in situ 3D models of features that were formerly extracted and recorded with 3D coordinates during unearthing operations. We created a tablet application that allows the user to view the position, orientation and dimensions of every recorded find while freely moving around the archaeological site with the device. To anchor the model, we used physical landmarks left at the excavation. A series of customised forms were created to show (onscreen) the different types of features by superimposing them over the terrain as perceived by the tablet camera. The application permits zooming-in, zooming-out, querying for specific artefacts and reading metadata associated with the archaeological elements. When at the office, our environment enables accurate visualisations of the 3D geometry concerning previously unearthed features and their spatial relationships. The application operates using the Swift programming language, Python scripts and ARKit technology. We present here an example of its use at Les Cottés, France, a palaeolithic site where thousands of artefacts are excavated out of six superimposed layers with a complex conformation.
... un asunto adicional es el papel que tiene el tema de la interacción en el aprendizaje y los concomitantes retos pedagógicos y de usabilidad (Stone y Ojika, 2000). Dado que ya muchos ambientes virtuales exitosos se han basado en juegos (Mosaker, 2000), los diseñadores, arqueólogos e historiadores podrían examinarlos para indagar por qué tienen tanto éxito. ...
... The physical pieces of the game are associated with presentation of virtual animation. We predict that more and more computer-generated heritage games will be available in the market as also foreseen by Stone & Ojika (2000). ...
The evolution of virtual reality (VR) has opened up the new perspectives especially for cultural heritage representations and preservations. We present the effort to digitize and preserve traditional Malaysian heritage games using VRML. We have built a VR game named Srikandi Melayu Terakhir. We discuss vast possibilities of using VR games in order to convert physical traditional heritage games into the ultimate gaming experience. We also present the result of the game usability evaluation. The output of this effort provides a basis to better understand VR games design especially for preserving cultural heritage traditional games.
... To date, VR has been successfully used for, among other applications, virtual surgery, virtual therapy, and flight and vehicle simulations. In the field of cultural heritage, VR has been instrumental in the development of the field of virtual heritage [6][7][8]. At the HafenCity University Hamburg, several VR projects concerning this subject have already been realized. ...
As virtual reality (VR) and the corresponding 3D documentation and modelling technologies evolve into increasingly powerful and established tools for numerous applications in architecture, monument preservation, conservation/restoration and the presentation of cultural heritage, new methods for creating information-rich interactive 3D environments are increasingly in demand. In this article, we describe the development of an immersive virtual reality application for the Imperial Cathedral in Königslutter, in which 360 • panoramic photographs were integrated within the virtual environment as a novel and complementary form of visualization. The Imperial Cathedral (Kaiserdom) of Königslutter is one of the most important examples of Romanesque architecture north of the Alps. The Cathedral had previously been subjected to laser-scanning and recording with 360 • panoramic photography by the Photogrammetry & Laser Scanning lab of HafenCity University Hamburg in 2010. With the recent rapid development of consumer VR technology, it was subsequently decided to investigate how these two data sources could be combined within an immersive VR application for tourism and for architectural heritage preservation. A specialised technical workflow was developed to build the virtual environment in Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) and integrate the panorama photographs so as to ensure the seamless integration of these two datasets. A simple mechanic was developed using the native UE4 node-based programming language to switch between these two modes of visualisation.
... un asunto adicional es el papel que tiene el tema de la interacción en el aprendizaje y los concomitantes retos pedagógicos y de usabilidad (Stone y Ojika, 2000). Dado que ya muchos ambientes virtuales exitosos se han basado en juegos (Mosaker, 2000), los diseñadores, arqueólogos e historiadores podrían examinarlos para indagar por qué tienen tanto éxito. ...
Resumen: ¿Cómo podemos transmitir los valores e interpretaciones del patrimonio cultural aplicando la realidad virtual a bajo costo, de una manera apropiada en términos contextuales y que resulte educacional mente efectiva y colaborativa? Aunque se han llevado a cabo excelentes investigaciones sobre la presencia social en entornos virtuales (Swinth y Blascovich, 2002), la investigación sobre el diseño y evaluación de la presencia cultural, es decir, la percepción de otra cultura cuando ésta es “retratada” y vivenciada en un entorno virtual, todavía se halla rezagada. Y cuando sí se ha explorado la presencia cultural, la investigación no se ha dirigido a mejorar la experiencia del patrimonio culturalmente significativo (riva et al., 2002). Por otra parte, organizaciones como la unesco no han aportado lineamientos sobre cómo determinar si la experiencia del usuario logra las metas previstas, tanto por los diseñadores, como por las demás partes involucradas en un proyecto (Champion, 2011, 2015). Una posible solución para la arqueología digital es investigar y emplear juegos comerciales que puedan modificarse (i.e. modded ). En este artículo se propor ciona una división esquemática de cómo los juegos podrían ayudar a comunicar la arqueología digital y el contenido relacionado con ésta; además, se analizarán cuando menos cuatro áreas importantes que nece sitan una mayor investigación en el futuro.
Abstract: How can we transmit the values and interpretations of cultural heritage (using virtual reality) in ways that are relatively inexpensive, contextually appropriate, educationally effective, and collaborative? While much excellent research has been undertaken on social presence in virtual environments (Swinth y Blasco vich, 2002), research on the design and evaluation of cultural presence (i.e. the perception another culture is portrayed and experienced in a virtual environment) lags behind. Where cultural presence has been explored, it has not been directed towards the experiencing of culturally significant heritage (riva et al., 2002), and organizations such as unesco have not prescribed how to determine if the user experience achieved the goals of the designers and shareholders (Champion, 2015, 2011). one possible solution for digital archaeology is to deploy commercial games that allow themselves to be modded (as in modified). This paper will provide a simple classification of the ways in which gamebased examples may help communicate digital archaeology and related content, and argue that there are at least four major areas of research that need to be investi gated further.
... In AR, one of the area where it has been displayed with great potential to use were the cultural and historical heritage also known as Virtual Heritage. It reconstructs 3D visual representation of monument, artifacts, building and other cultural and historical relics [9] which aims to give more realism and additional information than the traditional guidebooks and also as navigation aid for the user/heritage site visitor. This computer technology become attractions themselves as they are very useful to give additional information to the users and help them better visualize and understand the history of the site [10]. ...
... To achieve sense of presence, a lot of technical complexities should be considered. Entertainment industry obviously has been the main market of virtual reality, but it can also be used into more serious fields as the technology is becoming a trend worldwide with its cost getting cheaper [9]. ...
... On the other hand, virtual heritage is a representation of cultural heritage in means of computer visualizations by using virtual reality environment. In detail, Stone (1999, in Stone & Ojika, 2000 defines virtual heritage as: "the use of computer-based interactive technologies to record, preserve, or recreate artifacts, sites, and actors of historic, artistic, religious, and cultural significance and to deliver the results openly to a global audience in such a way as to provide formative educational experiences through electronic manipulations of time and space". Hence, by definition, virtual reality environment is the medium for preserving data about cultural heritage, and communicating this information with users for different purposes (Zara, 2004). ...
Reality technologies (virtual, augmented and mixed reality), as today's technology trends, are drawing attention from different fields of studies. Statistics show that they will be used more and more in upcoming years, as they will be cheaper and more accessible. Concordantly, in the field of conservation of cultural heritage, some companies, museums and foundations have already started using these technologies in order to offer more realistic experience besides promoting production of data to be used in conservation of cultural heritage. For these reasons, first of all, via literature review, it is justified whether reality technologies can be considered as media for sustainable conservation and documentation. And then, by document analysis, the administrations’ awareness of reality technologies’ potentials in terms of sustainable conservation of heritage is discussed. The main aim of the study is to draw attention to the opportunities and challenges of reality technologies in the area of sustainable conservation.
... Nearly two decades ago, experts defined virtual heritage as a fusion of virtual reality technology with cultural heritage content (Addison, 2000;Addison et al., 2006;Roussou, 2002). Stone and Ojika (2000) defined virtual heritage as: the use of computer-based interactive technologies to record, preserve, or recreate artifacts, sites and actors of historic, artistic, religious, and cultural significance and to deliver the results openly to a global audience in such a way as to provide formative educational experiences through electronic manipulations of time and space. ...
What are the leading tools and archives in digital cultural heritage? How can they be integrated into research infrastructures to better serve their intended audiences? In this book, authors from a wide range of countries, representing some of the best research projects in digital humanities related to cultural heritage, discuss their latest findings, both in terms of new tools and archives, and how they are used (or not used) by both specialists and by the general public. © 2018 selection and editorial matter, Agiatis Benardou, Erik Champion, Costis Dallas and Lorna M. Hughes; individual chapters, the contributors.
... Pertumbuhan tersebut cenderung lebih disukai dalam hal rekonstruksi 3D [4], teknologi multimedia, komputer grafis dan virtual reality juga menyebabkan konsep baru dalam penyajian virtual heritage. Fenomena tersebut mengacu pada penggunaan sistem maya untuk membuat, bernavigasi, dan mengeksplorasi terhadap rekonstruksi lingkungan dari ketertarikan budaya [5]. Pengguna dapat menikmmati secara efektif untuk mengenal warisan budaya melalui pengalaman baru yang formatif dan mengasikkan dalam waktu yang bersamaan [6], terutama bagi kalangan muda [7]. ...
p> Sangiran is an important site for the development of various fields of science, especially for research in the fields of anthropology, archeology, biology, paleoanthropology, geology, and tourism. The existence of Sangiran site is very useful for studying prehistoric human life because the site is equipped with ancient human fossils, the result of ancient human culture, and ancient fossils of flora and fauna. But in the provision of educational information on the Museum Sangiran still use posters and pamphlets. Therefore necessary to develop educational information media with a more interactive method of Augmented Reality technology.
This application is developed using the method of observation, literature study, interviews with the managers of Sangiran, as well as visitors sangiran questionnaire for data collection, creation of applications such as design, story board, catalogs marker to application development and testing. This research purposes to visualize the prehistory in the multimedia-based Sangiran Museum using Augmented Reality Technology as well as to test the ability of visitors about the discovery of ancient objects in the Museum Sangiran.
The result is that the marker detection by the camera can be optimally if the distance of the camera to the marker between 15-75 cm and a deflection angle between 15<sup>o</sup>-105<sup>o</sup>. The results of questionnaires to the application for Aspects of interest that agree and strongly agree is 100%, Aspect Ease ie agree and strongly agree is 96.6%, Aspect Ease of Navigation that is agreed and strongly agreed is 93.4%, ie Interactive Aspects agree and strongly agree is 93.4%, and the aspect of innovation that agree and strongly agree 100%. </p
From an explanation of virtual heritage and the problem of culture, this chapter provides a selective overview of games, game mods, and game-like virtual environments offering insight and potential in communicating cultural significance, affording learning about the past through immersion and engagement.KeywordsVirtual environmentCultural significanceGame interactiveGame engine
In die Vergangenheit einzutauchen und Geschichte wieder zum Leben zu erwecken, ist das große Ziel vieler Akteure im Bildungsbereich. Dies gilt nicht nur für Schulen, sondern insbesondere auch für Museen, die digitale Tools entdecken, um mit deren Hilfe Vergangenes wieder sichtbar und erlebbar zu machen. Visualisierungen von historischen Gebäuden, Denk-mälern und Stätten geben Besuchern einen begreifbaren Eindruck von damals. Mit der virtuellen Realität (VR) lässt sich eine hohe Immersion erreichen, da die Besucher in dieser vir-tuellen Welt mittendrin sind. Dadurch bietet diese Technologie eine neue Form der Wissensvermittlung, in dem man sich interaktiv mit z.B. geschichtlichen Themengebieten auseinandersetzen kann. An der HafenCity Universität Hamburg wurden seit 2016 viele Projekte dieser Art umgesetzt, insbesondere die Erstellung von historischen Städten in VR (z.B. Bad Segeberg, Stade) und Stätten (z.B. Kaiserdom Königslutter, Salomonischer Tempel, u.v.a.m.). In diesem Beitrag wird in Form eines Erfahrungsberichtes der Workflow für die Erstellung von VR-Applikationen vorgestellt. Dabei werden verschiedene Aspekte wie Datenbeschaffung, Modellierung, Texturierung und Entwicklung der Anwendung bis zur finalen Implementation in Museen diskutiert. Dazu gehören u.a. auch die Abwägung zwischen wissenschaftlich-historischer (und geometrischer) Genauigkeit und der Erwartungshaltung an eine komplette, als real empfundene Umgebung, sowie der Kompromiss zwischen Datenmenge und Computerperformance und Überlegungen zu den Anforderungen unterschiedli-cher Zielgruppen.
The historic environment is a formulation of the cultural past as experienced and documented in space. Traditional approaches to the historic environment tend to favour conservational and preservational paradigms, such as heritage stewardship or the dynamics of cultural resource management in relation to national policies. Alternatively, they often enquire into the entertainment and time travel approaches of contemporary museum and tourism sectors. Instead, this study will focus on digitality, as both an epistemology and as a means of transmission for assemblages and spaces in the historic environment. This approach is framed around a comparative study between UK and Swedish approaches to virtual heritage, including immersive technologies and XR (extended reality environments), and the digitised approaches to site and monument inventory, borne out the nineteenth century state-led interest in the preservation of cultural traditions within the public sphere. In doing so, I identify the recurring themes enrolled in processes surrounding digital creation and transmission of historic environment material. Often, this is manifested in the politics of representation and identity, as well as the dynamics of accessibility. Audience matters are crucial to both approaches, but in this thesis, I argue that broad understandings of usership are not fully understood and that the benefits of interdisciplinary humanistic approaches to the historic environment are not being sought. The argument being that simply making a tool or product accessible is not the same as making it egalitarian, nor easily useable or meaningful. It is found that the risk is often run of creating products whereby the audience is broadly the same in terms of culture or profession to that of the product creators. Many of the root issues, in particular those regarding diversity, are established in the current definitions of what the historic environment is as a physical entity embedded in the cultural landscape. These definitions are described within and expanded upon through proliferation of social and spatial theories to proffer a less tangible definition of the historic environment as a social space in its own right. By removing the physical boundaries of landscape, the goal is to re-establish a historic environment without the limitations of authorised vocabularies, narratives, or terms of authenticity, that shackle the historic environment to local or national government institutions. This in turn allows for a more socially defined, participatory, and holistic approach, returning the historic environment to a cultural realm defined by the lived experience of the contemporary public.
Bilgi iletişim teknolojileri, bugün bilgi çağında her alanda aktif olarak
kullanılmaktadır. Kültürel miras alanında ise müzeler bu teknolojileri kullanarak
etkileşimli bilgi üretim ortamlarına dönüştüren önemli kurumlardır. Kentsel ve
bölgesel ölçekte ise sanal miras projeleri sanal gerçeklik ve artırılmış gerçeklik
teknolojilerini kullanarak kültürel miras bilgisini tanıtım ve eğitim amacıyla
kullanmaktadır. Ancak bu girişimlerin yeterince hızlı ve kapsamlı yapılamadığı yerel
ölçekte ya da çok yüzeysel kaldığı düşünülmektedir. Ayrıca kültürel miras eğitimi için
artık geleneksel yöntemlerden çok yenilikçi ve yaratıcı yöntemlere ihtiyaç
duyulmaktadır. Bu ihtiyaç kapsamında geliştirilen ve Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi BAP
desteği alan Histourical AR mobil uygulaması kentsel ölçekte bilgi iletişim
teknolojilerini kullanarak kültürel mirasın eğitimini çokluortamlarda sunan yaratıcı ve
yenilikçi yöntemlerle hazırlanmıştır. Uygulama tasarımı için bugüne erişememiş tarihi
bina ve önemli tarihi karakterlerin üç boyutlu (3D) rekonstrüksiyonları hazırlanmış,
bu yapı ve karakterlerle etkileşimli olarak telefon ekranlarında AR ile görünür hale
getirilmiştir. Yazılı metinler görsel anlatımlarla seslendirilmiş 3D grafiklerle etkileşim
sağlanmış, video animasyonlarla hikayeleştirilen tarihi hikayeler aktarılmıştır.
Hazırlanan çokluortam kullanımları kullanıcı deneyimi (UX) ve kullanıcı arayüzü (UI)
tasarımları ile kullanıcıya sunulmuştur. Bu tasarımlarda çokluortam tasarım ilkeleri ve
öğrenme kriterleri göz önünde bulundurulmuştur. Hazırlanan uygulamanın asıl amacı
BİT’in KM eğitimindeki rolünü araştırmaktır. Bu kapsamda araştırma için kullanıcı
deneyiminin rolü ve Mobil uygulamaların SM eğitimindeki rolünü ölçümleyebilmek
için Sultanahmet tarihi yarımadasına gidilip rastgele seçilen 397 kişi ile 46 sorudan
oluşan anket yapılmıştır. Toplanan veriler Sosyal Bilimler için İstatistik Paketi (SPSS)
Programıyla, nitel ve nicel betimleyici analiz yöntemiyle değerlendirilmiştir.
Araştırmanın nicel bölümünde deneysel bir desen kullanılmıştır. Uygulamada
oluşturulan sanal mekân algı ölçümleri için 12 sıfat ve nitelendirme çifti (zıt)
kullanılarak mekânın nitelik özellikleri belirlenmeye çalışılmış, uygulamanın etkinlik
derecesini ölçmek için 7’li likert ölçeği kullanılmış ve katılımcıların demografik
özelleri için 5 adet soru sorulmuştur. Uygulamada artırılmış gerçeklik ve çoklu ortam
kullanımlarının kültürel miras eğitimi ve tanıtımına artı değer kattığı, öğrenmede, ilgi
ve merakı arttırdığı, eğlendirdiği, yaratıcı olanakları ve yüksek teknoloji
kullanımlarının bir sonucu olarak tarih sevgisi kazandırdığı, görsel ve duyumsal
mekân algısını değiştirerek öğrenmeyi somutlaştırdığı sonucuna varılmıştır.
What can real-world cultural heritage sites learn from the video games industry about presenting a coherent story, while giving visitors freedom to explore and allowing them to become participants in the story-making? How do cultural heritage professionals have to change their storytelling practices to properly take advantage of new digital technologies? A review of the literature, including analysing the narrative of three �open world� style video games shows that cultural heritage sites manage to provide analogues of many ludic emotional triggers except one � story.
The bulk of the work is auto-ethnographical: how might cultural heritage professionals, like me, translate linear interpretations such as histories, guidebooks, exhibition texts and other sources, into a network of narrative atoms (natoms) that an algorithm, rather than a human, might deliver to visitors? What should they consider along the way? The first prototype was a responsive heritage narrative, this was an on-screen text �adventure� rather than a real-world environment. Taking learning from that experiment to Chawton House Library, an on-line data-base of natoms was built, which included environmental effects such as lighting, sound and music. Visitors participated in an �Untour� simulating a responsive environment, triggered by their movement around the spaces of the house. The output of this research is an analysis of the recordings and observations made during the Untours, which proves that it is possible to author coherent narratives by tagging individual natoms. However consideration should be given to the transitions between natoms, and heritage professionals should be challenged to take more risks with fiction.
“This collection is a timely and highly anticipated intervention into research on the new affordances provided by digital technologies in the context of Holocaust commemoration and education. By addressing all aspects of the digital it offers a much needed and carefully curated dialogue not only between different disciplines but also between academics, heritage practitioners and educational professionals.”
- Dr Silke Arnold-de Simine, Reader in Memory, Media and Cultural Studies, Birkbeck, University of London
This book explores the diverse range of practical and theoretical challenges and possibilities that digital technologies and platforms pose for Holocaust memory, education and research. From social media to virtual reality, 360-degree imaging to machine learning, there can be no doubt that digital media penetrate practice in these fields. As the Holocaust moves beyond living memory towards solely mediated memory, it is imperative that we pay critical attention to the way digital technologies are shaping public memory and education and research. Bringing together the voices of heritage and educational professionals, and academics from the arts and humanities and the social sciences, this interdisciplinary collection explores the practicalities of creating digital Holocaust projects, the educational value of such initiatives, and considers the extent to which digital technologies change the way we remember, learn about and research the Holocaust, thinking through issues such as ethics, embodiment, agency, community, and immersion. At its core, this volume interrogates the extent to which digital interventions in these fields mark an epochal shift in Holocaust memory, education and research, or whether they continue to be shaped by long-standing debates and guidelines developed in the broadcast era.
Victoria Grace Walden is a senior lecturer in media at the University of Sussex, Editor-in-Chief of the academic platform Digital Holocaust Memory and authored Cinematic Intermedialities and Contemporary Holocaust Memory (Palgrave Macmillan 2019). She previously worked as a freelance educator with the Holocaust Educational Trust and as digital coordinator for the IHRA.
Currently, Holocaust history education faces two challenges: the authentication and availability of its information and the need for more effective pedagogical methods for Historical and Cultural Learning. This study presents the impact of the Future Memory tablet application which combines the active, embodied exploration of historical information with geo-localised presentation using virtual and augmented reality technology. We report three recent studies where the application was tested with a total of 147 participants. The results confirm that active, embodied exploration of historical information facilitates learning more as compared to standard exhibitions. In addition, our results show that memory consolidation and learning is facilitated by prior knowledge while negative emotions can have a detrimental effect on learning outcomes. Lastly, our results show that combining historical information with a spatialised VR/AR environment leads to significantly better learning outcomes as compared to using a spatial representation alone. These results provide strong support for the model of Historical and Cultural Learning pursued in the Future Memory project, which grounds the learning experience in the situated, active and individualised engagement with historical sources.
Museums are institutions of memory and repositories of knowledge and should pay close attention to information management in order to create and share new knowledge. As participatory institutions, museums should also work to develop human, structural and relational capital in order to promote Intellectual Capital. They are increasing the interaction with the public. In this context, new technologies support museums in developing service innovation. The pandemic has forced governments in Italy and many other countries to close all nonessential activities, including museums. These institutions have had the only alternative to spread culture and knowledge through online tools, including social media and websites. This caused an acceleration in digital transformation processes. The chapter proposes the results of a survey conducted on a sample of 167 Italian Museums, concerning the digital engagement initiatives adopted during the first lockdown in Italy, future challenges faced and strategies that the institutions will put in place to engage visitors. The pandemic will likely lead to a change in the consumption habits of cultural tourists. They will probably use digital tools and methods of interaction offered by museums more and more also as a way to interact with collections while remaining at home.
This chapter discusses an ongoing research which evaluates visitors’ experiences at St Augustine’s Abbey before and after in situ projections of reconstructed imageries of non-existent Abbey artefacts. The research is based on the contrasting opinions of Viollet-Le-Duc and William Morris on reconstruction and how it should be wrought. It introduces a case study on visitors’ experiences at St Augustine’s Abbey focused on visitors’ views on themes associated with digital reconstruction such as authenticity and realism. The results indicate that a considerable number of respondents thought in situ digital reconstructions of the Abbey artefacts would have a positive impact on their visitation experience. Visitors associate authenticity with accuracy and factuality and inauthenticity with not being original. Respondents stated that digital reconstructions are more hyperreal than real as they create an illusionary vision of reality. The case study also analyses visitors’ perception of the sixteenth-century Virtual Reality (VR) of the Abbey with emphasis on immersion and quality of the information provided. Lastly, the chapter introduces methods for digital reconstruction of non-existent artefacts for future workflows of the research.
The aim of this paper is to present the use of 3D models and augmented reality (AR) to
study and communicate architectural and urban values and, therefore, favor the development of dedicated forms of “smart heritage”. The study rises from a reflection on the concept of “heritage”, as defined in the international documents, intended as an evolving idea that puts together tangible and intangible aspects. Moreover, digital technologies favor “phygital” applications where the digital dimension support the traditional ones. In this way, AR allows the superimposition of multimedia information to heritage, respecting the historical matter of the artefacts, and supporting a “smart
heritage” application. In particular, mobile AR, with real-time and ubiquitous visualizations, offers the opportunity to show past urban and architectural configurations to investigate and describe the transformations that have led to the current configuration, and consequently highlighting the present historical and architectural values of the buildings. Two case studies are presented: the square of St. Basilio Monastery, with its historical transformations, and the Basilica of Collemaggio, a pivotal building in the rites of “Perdonanza Celestiniana”.
The fast development of interactive technologies has impacted the field of Cultural Heritage by enriching museums, sites and exhibitions. As for Cultural Heritage, Industrial Heritage can also benefit from new technologies in order to create interactive experiences and advance the understanding and dissemination of industrial evolution. The thermal power plant of Aramon at the South of France has stopped its electricity production and will be dismantled. This site is rich in industrial heritage and cultural significance. A 3D model of the site as well as virtual tours would make possible, on the one hand, to create resources for educational purposes in order to introduce the public to energy production sites and, on the other hand, to keep the memory of the region's Industrial Heritage.
Digital media have revolutionized the practice of scholarship from archives to the creation of content. Continuing into the next decades, the application of digital technologies will remain a pivotal component to cultural heritage research-creation projects. Heritage preservation by means of virtual heritage or digital heritage broadly refers to the use and application of computational tools and methods to humanist fields of study. It embraces a transdisciplinary approach to inspire new research initiatives, while at the same time employing digital media technologies for content creation and sharing across the public space. This article provides an overview of the information design process applied to the digital preservation and re-presentation of cultural heritage. It employs principles of digital heritage to create a matrix of cultural heritage content within the themes of legacy, transmission and transformation. The intangible nature of world heritage is of increasing concern. How that can be preserved and how it becomes sampled and preserved in digital archives for the future are key questions, originating from the inquiry – How much information is enough? This article endeavours to illuminate that question though an exemplar research-creation project, showcasing the materiality of the digital, its embodiment, agency and the resulting impact on the audiences it seeks to inform.
Cultural presence is a term used to explain and evaluate cultural learning in virtual heritage projects but is less frequently used for video games. Given the increasing importance of video games to cultural heritage, this article investigates explanations of cultural presence that could be communicated by games, especially concerning UNESCO and ICOMOS definitions of cultural significance. The aim is to determine if cultural presence can be communicated via video games and across a range of game genres.
Observations derived from game prototyping workshops for history and heritage aided the development of a teachable list of desirable game elements. To distinguish itself from the vagueness surrounding theories of cultural presence, a theory of culturally significant presence is proposed. Culturally significant presence requires three components: culturally significant artifacts and practices; an overarching framework of a singular, identifiable cultural viewpoint; and awareness by the participant of both the culturally significant and the overarching cultural framework and perspective (which gives sites, artifacts, and practices their cultural significance and relational value).
As awareness of cultural presence requires time for reflection, single-player games were chosen that were not completely dependent on time-based challenges. Another criterion was cultural heritage content: They must simulate aspects of heritage and history, communicate a specific cultural framework, or explore and reconstruct a past culture. Four games were chosen that simulate a culture, explain archaeological methods, portray indigenous intangible heritage, or explain historical-based ecosystems of the past based on educational guidelines. The games are Assassin's Creed: Origins ; Heaven's Vault ; Never Alone ; and a Ph.D. project: Saxon . Their genres could be described as first-person shooter/open world/virtual tour; dialogue-based puzzle game; 2D platform game; and turn-based strategy game.
The aim is not to evaluate the entire range of interactive virtual environments and games, but to examine the applicability and relevance of this new theory and to ascertain whether the four games provided useful feedback on the concept and usefulness of culturally significant presence. A more clearly demarcated theory may not only help focus evaluation studies but also encourage game developers to modify or allow modification of commercial games for classroom teaching of digital heritage.
With rapid advancement of technology, people can roam around the virtual world through the aid of the Internet. One of these advances is a photographic technique called panoramic view where the images are captured with elongated field of view using specialized software or equipments. One popular software for generating panoramic views is Apple Inc.’s QuickTime VR (QTVR). However, iphone Operating System (iOS) does not support the existing QTVR software. Therefore, a low-cost method for generating panoramic views on mobile platform is proposed. The proposed method is to store finite images in an array in order to generate a 360o panoramic view from different angles of the heritage sites. This method can be supported various platforms and can be installed in any mobile device without using intermediate software to convert the image file format. The key aspects of the iOS User Experience (UX) are also explored from the perspectives of Model-View-Control (MVC) strategies. The outcome is 360o cylindrical panoramic views that allow the user to gain a clear vision around historical monuments with standardize iOS interface design on a mobile platform using lower computational cost but with similar quality of production. The results of the evaluation have shown that the application is successfully implemented in George Town, Malaysia.
Da sich Virtual Reality (VR) und die entsprechenden 3D-Dokumentations-und Modellie-rungstechnologien zu immer leistungsfähigeren und etablierten Werkzeugen für Anwendun-gen in der Architektur, in der Denkmalpflege, bei der Konservierung/Restaurierung und Prä-sentation des kulturellen Erbes entwickeln, sind effiziente Methoden für die Erstellung von immersiven, virtuellen 3D-Umgebungen mit interaktiven Erlebnissen zunehmend gefragt. Dann wird der Einsatz von VR-Technologien für Institutionen wie Museen, Bildungseinrich-tungen und andere kulturelle Einrichtungen eine attraktive Option, um Kulturobjekte in einer neuen Form der Wissensvermittlung dem interessierten Publikum zu präsentieren. In diesem Beitrag wird als Beispiel für ein bedeutendes Kulturdenkmal die Entwicklung einer interak-tiven, immersiven Virtual-Reality-Applikation für den Kaiserdom in Königslutter beschrie-ben, bei der 360°-Panoramafotografien als neuartige und ergänzende Form der Visualisie-rung integriert wurden. Der Kaiserdom von Königslutter ist eines der wichtigsten Beispiele romanischer Architektur nördlich der Alpen. Im April 2010 wurden komplexe Konservierungs-und Restaurierungs-arbeiten anlässlich des 875. Jahrestages der Grundsteinlegung des Doms abgeschlossen. Im Januar und Juni 2010 hatte das Labor für Photogrammetrie & Laserscanning der HafenCity Universität Hamburg das imposante Bauwerk innen und außen mit terrestrischem Laserscan-ning (TLS) in 3D erfasst. Die TLS-Punktwolken dienten als Grundlage für die detaillierte 3D-CAD-Konstruktion des Doms, um ein virtuelles 3D-Modell für einen 3D-Druck sowie für die Dokumentation und Visualisierung des Gebäudes zu generieren. Ergänzend wurde ein virtueller Rundgang um und durch den Dom aus sphärischen 360°-Panoramafotos erstellt. Seit der Verfügbarkeit von kostengünstigen VR-Brillen, wie z.B. der 2016 erschienenen HTC Vive, bietet sich eine immersive VR-Visualisierung solcher Monumente an, die 2019 für den Kaiserdom realisiert wurde.
In 2007 China began to host science fiction conferences. An invited speaker, the British writer Neil Garmin (2013), said their reasoning was to encourage innovation. So the Chinese visited Apple, Microsoft and Google to discover that the forward-looking and innovative workers at these companies credited science fiction with helping their imagination. Gaiman’s motive was to encourage reading, especially of fiction, but it also underlines another aspect to culture. A substantial part of our current and past cultures rely on a large amount of escapism, idealism, intangible values and implicit yet shifting belief systems. The cultural geographer Yi-Fu Tuan (1998) even went so far as to declare the basis of culture to be that which is not seen: “Seeing what is not there lies at the foundation of all human culture”. This definition raises two interesting dilemmas for the visualisation of past cultures. How do we see what is not there? And how can we convey a sense of a past or distant culture if we are in fact attempting to simulate their symbolic expressions of escape? This chapter will try to answer the questions via two case studies of student projects: a game-simulation of the Chinese literature classic Journey to the West; and four touch-screen games that attempted to convey a conceptual rather than literary-based expression of the four great arts of China and of Taoist thought. Issues in developing digital heritage applications for different cultural audiences will also be discussed.
This theoretical position paper outlines four key issues blocking the development of effective 3D models that would be suitable for the aims and objectives of virtual heritage infrastructures. It suggests that a real-time game environment which composes levels at runtime from streaming multimédia components would offer advantages in terms of editing, customisation and personalisation. The paper concludes with three recommendations for virtual heritage infrastructures.
The success of virtual heritage projects, through the careful inspection, contextualization and modification of 3D digital heritage models with virtual reality technology, is still problematic. Models are hard to find, impossible to download and edit, in unusual, unwieldy or obsolete formats. Many of the freely available models are stand-alone 3D meshes with no accompanying metadata or information on how the acquisition of the data. Few have information on if or how the models can be shared (and if they are editable). Fewer still quantify the accuracy of the scanning or modelling process, or make available the scholarly documents, field reports, photographs and site plans that allowed the designers to extract enough information for their models.
As information-based, knowledge-oriented and technology-enabled organisations, museums should contribute to sustaining value co-creation and service innovation, encouraging the participation of audience by enhancing experience and interactions, promoting user-generated content, driving participants to create knowledge on cultural heritage. The chapter aims to explain how museums utilise technology in order to promote value co-creation strengthening the participation of the audience in cultural heritage content. As organisations that use and develop technology for value and knowledge creation, museums rediscover themselves as knowledge-driven and value-oriented communities that rely on museum informational professionals as user-centred mediators that meet the changing needs of users that act as co-producers of cultural heritage content. As audience- or collection-driven organisations, museums emerge as social spaces for innovation and select different pathways for value co-creation developing web, digital, interactive, virtual technologies and environments in order to involve the users as active participants in museums as communities within cultural and social ecosystems.
Purposes
The aim of this study is to provide a conceptual framework to explain how museums sustain intellectual capital and promote value co-creation moving from designing virtual environments to introducing and managing Big Data.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on archival and qualitative data considering the literature related to the introduction of virtual environments and Big Data within museums.
Findings
Museums contribute to sustaining intellectual capital and in promoting value co-creation developing a Big Data-driven strategy and innovation.
Practical implications
By introducing and managing Big Data, museums contribute to creating a community by improving knowledge within cultural ecosystems while strengthening the users as active participants and the museum’s professionals as user-centred mediators.
Originality/value
As audience-driven and knowledge-oriented organisations moving from designing virtual environments to following a Big data-driven strategy, museums should select organisational and strategic choices for driving change.
In recent years, digital technology has become ubiquitous in the museum. They have changed the ways museums document, preserve and present cultural heritage. Now, we are exploring if there are some ways that could provide more historical context to a displayed object and make an exhibition more immersive. Therefore, we did a project called “The Virtual Reality Touch Museum” and used an experiment to test if such museum performs better on “Presence” and learning achievements. As the results show, this VR Touch Museum was outstanding in “presence” but more research is necessary to verify how effective it is for learning.
Much of the effort in VH is directed towards accurate representation of historic structures, objects or artefacts. There is little attention is paid, however, to the human aspects of city life, the intangible heritage to which people can actually relate. Digital models of historic buildings and spaces only give a sense of precision. Yet, rituals, human attitude and cultural traditions remained a gap in current research and advanced technology in heritage visualization. Virtual Heritage Environments (VHE) suffer from the lack of ‘thematic interactivity’ due to the limited cultural content and engaging modules largely used in photorealistic video gaming systems. In order to approach virtual fidelity and accurate reproduction of historic environments, this paper reports on a research process to investigate and incorporate a Cultural-feed into digital platforms of Virtual Heritage. In doing so, the paper focuses on the Middle East in general and Medieval Cairo in particular. It discusses conceptual and practical framework for the development of virtual heritage platforms as a research, educational and engagement tool that brings historic spaces and buildings back to the recognition of the public eye of the ordinary user. It analyses current practices and projects of the virtual heritage technologies and reports on field work that took place in Islamic Cairo with Five Start-Up entrepreneurs.
Much of the effort in VH is directed towards accurate representation of historic objects and physical precision of ancient architecture styles but lacks the human part of city life, to which people can actually relate. Perfectly modelled virtual buildings and spaces only give a sense of precision, but only rituals, human attitude and cultural traditions enable them to engage with heritage visualization. Virtual Heritage Environments (VHE) also lack ‘thematic interactivity’ due to the limited cultural content and engaging modules largely used in photorealistic video gaming systems. In order to approach virtual fidelity and accurate reproduction of historic environments, this paper reports on the a critical review of the global practices and perspective on a novel research on Cultural-feed of Virtual Heritage (CfVH). In doing so, cultural content of Virtual Heritage is investigated as a technical and conceptual process of reducing technical limitations and addition of sub-grid cultural terrains to attain a degree of ‘reality’ and photorealism of culture. It focuses on the Middle East as Case example.
As many of the Cairene traditions, memories and cultural practices emerged from the enduring Medieval Cairo’s historic communities (hawari; alleyways) and local markets, reproducing such culturally-rich environments through VR modelling systems was a challenge. Cairo’s medieval fabric, however, would only be understood if supplemented with modes of socio-cultural interaction and traditions. These were frequently photographed, filmed and recorded in drama series and cinema productions. Virtual heritage models in this sense would offer realistic cultural experience in a living memory. This paper discusses conceptual and practical framework for the development of virtual heritage platforms as a research, educational and engagement tool that brings historic spaces and buildings back to the recognition of the public eye of the ordinary user. It not only reproduces historical scenes through physical modelling of archaeological sites or data, but, more importantly, through serial narratives where life is explored and practised in motion, and where cultural-feed brings meaning, experiences and understanding to the socio-cultural context. The paper first introduces a brief and summary database of case studies of examples of virtual heritage platforms and outputs that are suitable to different purposes and audiences. It, then, looks at the context and production of VH in Egypt, as an example of Middle Eastern cities with vast heritage sites and advanced technological provisions. It reports on the process and findings of an AHRC-funded project, Virtual Heritage Cairo, that aimed to investigate difficulties, technological and skill gaps amongst stakeholders and local start-ups that would otherwise enable VH in Egypt to become regional power. However, The research found that VH in Egypt is rather limited and lacks accessibility to technology and skills, appropriate digital platforms for operation and dissemination.
Virtual heritage is a modern technological application that aims to transfer the experience of historic buildings, urban spaces and cities into an engaging experience of real-life quality for the ordinary people. Computer-simulated environments can simulate physical presence in places in the real world offering digital display of lost heritage that conveys inherent values in the education process for students in both pre-university as well as graduate education. For architecture and archaeological students, in particular, it virtually transfers them to another world where they engage with architectonics and quality of architecture. For conservators, historians and archaeologists, it helps develop a rich library and digital archive of details, information and data necessary in restoring historical sites, as well as heritage preservation where the 3D virtual models contain accurate data and help for restoration.
This paper reports on recently completed research project on the development of virtual heritage platforms for medieval culture. It uncovers a conceptual framework for the development of virtual heritage platforms as a research, educational and engagement tool that brings historic spaces and buildings back to the recognition of the public eye of the ordinary user. It not only reproduces historical scenes through physical modelling of archaeological sites or data, but, more importantly, through serial narratives where life is explored and practised in motion, and where cultural-feed brings meaning, experiences and understanding to the socio-cultural context. The paper introduces a brief analysis of virtual heritage platforms that offer a variety of methods, techniques, contexts, and outputs that are suitable to different purposes and audiences. It offers a brief conclusion on how virtual heritage offer unique and unprecedented insights into historic architecture that would be otherwise invisible or unimaginable.
The Research Policy Document, “Managing Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age”, offers an insight on how a “Research Policy Document on the Development of Virtual Heritage for Egypt and the Middle East” could set out practical guidelines, as well as legal and ethical framework of governance of Virtual and digital heritage in Egypt and the Middle East. It is designed to inform government policy, new direction of research innovations as well as new legislative and regulations that would not only regulate such fluid fields of creative productions, but also to offer help and support to those who are unsure about their rights, responsibilities and commitments. In its advisory scope, it proposes and suggests systems of communications, legislations and ethical code of conduct that enhance in a structured manner, a better collaborative environments based on shared interest for the creative and innovative field of virtual heritage in the region.
This Policy Paper has been structured to develop necessary frameworks and action plan to regulate, administer the govern such fluid relationship between main stakeholders involved in the collaborations and co-production of digital and virtual preservation of cultural and built heritage assets (tangible and intangible); national institutions’ authority and ownership of heritage and historic assets from one side, and private enterprise that energize and develop creative and economic applications with market and business values from another. It has covered such inter-related relationships, highlighting areas of collaborative efforts, necessary partnerships, investments, trainings and market studies, but also warned against concerns and worries of inadequate and abuse of access to heritage material, content and sites without clarity on rights and responsibilities.
VIRTUAL HERITAGE CAIRO Virtual Heritage of Medieval Culture: Collaborative Network for Cultural-feed of Virtual Heritage (CfVH) platforms of medieval Cairo
First Volume of Series of Publication on Virtual Heritage Cairo Project, Funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in the United Kingdom.
Getting Started: An Introduction to Virtual Reality,
- R J Stone
- B Bishop
Unesco World Heritage Sites: A Consultation Paper on a New United Kingdom Tentative List of Future Nominations,
- C Smith
Virtual Heritage," <i>
- R J Stone
<i>Unesco World Heritage Sites: A Consultation Paper on a New United Kingdom Tentative List of Future Nominations,</i> Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, UK
- C Smith