Immersive Augmented and Virtual Reality for Archeological Sites Exploration and Analysis

Summary

Immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), in combination with low cost yet high quality photogrammetry techniques, are beginning to change the way that archaeologists understand space and place. The availability of affordable immersive technologies is dissolving natural boundaries of space and time, and offering new ways of communications. The maturity of existing software environments such as Unity additionally allows for integrating spatial analysis tools into immersive environments, boosting archaeological research. We present the results of recent field work at the ancient Maya site of Cahal Pech, located in the Belize Valley of west-central Belize. We used a range of environmental sensing technologies, 3D modeling (e.g., structure from motion mapping and hands-on modeling) and 360° photography/videography of architecture to create an immersive experience for Cahal Pech (for an overview see: http://sites.psu.edu/archaeology/). Importantly, we developed a field protocol that could be implemented at other archaeological sites to allow researchers to view, interact with, and analyze data both on and off-site immersively. Our goal is to create a comprehensive suite of immersive applications for important Maya sites across Belize to enhance site visits, enable immersive tours and virtual time travel (VTT), and create immersive archaeology workbenches for researchers.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22370