A Wearable System for the Wireless Experience of Extended Range Telepresence

Extended range telepresence aims at enabling a user to experience virtual or remote environments, taking his own body movements as an input to define walking speed and viewing direction. Therefore, localization and tracking of the users pose (position and orientation) is necessary to perform a body-centered scene rendering. Visual and acoustic feedback is provided to the user by a head mounted display (HMD). To allow for free movement within the user environment, the tracking system is supposed to be user-wearable and entirely wireless. Consequently, a lightweight design is presented fea- turing small dimensions to fit into a conventional 13"laptop backpack, which satisfies the above stated demands for highly immersive extended range telepresence scenarios. Dedicated embedded hardware combined with off-the-shelf components is employed to form a robust, low-cost telepresence system that can be easily installed in any living room

Authenticity through VR-Based documentation of cultural heritage : A theoretical approach based on conservation and documentation practices

The visualization of 3D reconstructed artifacts often requires significant computing resources. The implementation of an object in a virtual reality (VR) application even necessitates the reduction of the polygonal mesh. Consequently, the communication and dissemination of “authentic” 3D reconstructions via immersive VR technologies has been a nearly impossible feat for many researchers. However, is the issue really computing resources, or is it rather the notion of authenticity in an “auratic” sense, i.e., an excessive focus on physical evidence and survey data? In the present paper, we will discuss the authenticity requirements for virtual archaeology as set by the Seville Principles(2011), and we will analyse some limitations related to the current approaches. Furthermore, we will propose a pluralistic notion based on the contextualization of 3D objects in VR environments with synesthetic (i.e. multisensory) information. This new notion of authenticity relies on conservation meanings rather than physical features. In line with this approach, two case studies will be commented: the multimodal 3D-documentation of the Jupiter Column(2AD) in Ladenburg, and the VR-based re-enactment of a modern work of art, the audio-kinetic sculpture Kaleidophonic Dog(1967) by Stephan von Huene. These two projects provide valuable data for a revision of the notion of authenticity in both virtual archaeology and art conservation

Virtually Sensuous (Geographies): Towards a Strategy for Archiving Multi-user Experiential and Participatory Installations

This paper explores potential strategies for the audio-visual documentation of a multi-user choreographic digital installation entitled Sensuous Geographies using VR technologies. The installation was interactive, fully immersive and participatory, with the general public initiating the details of the installation’s sonic and visual worlds. At the time of the making of Sensuous Geographies, the means of documenting participatory installations in action was limited to video documentation and photographs, which represent a third-person perspective. This article suggests that new forms of technology provide an opportunity to archive interactive choreographic installations in such a way that the choreographic forms and embodied experience they generate can be re-presented in audiovisual form to historians and audiences of the future. This article expands on a conference presentation of the same title given at the DocPerform2 Symposium, City University. London in November 2017

Autenticidad a partir de RV como método de documentación de patrimonio cultural. Aproximación teórica basada en prácticas de conservación y documetnación

[EN] The visualization of 3D reconstructed artifacts often requires significant computing resources. The implementation of an object in a virtual reality (VR) application even necessitates the reduction of the polygonal mesh. Consequently, the communication and dissemination of “authentic” 3D reconstructions via immersive VR technologies has been a nearly impossible feat for many researchers. However, is the issue really computing resources, or is it rather the notion of authenticity in an “auratic” sense, i.e., an excessive focus on physical evidence and survey data? In the present paper, we will discuss the authenticity requirements for virtual archaeology as set by the Seville Principles(2011), and we will analyse some limitations related to the current approaches. Furthermore, we will propose a pluralistic notion based on the contextualization of 3D objects in VR environments with synesthetic (i.e. multisensory) information. This new notion of authenticity relies on conservation meanings rather than physical features. In line with this approach, two case studies will be commented: the multimodal 3D-documentation of the Jupiter Column(2AD) in Ladenburg, and the VR-based re-enactment of a modern work of art, the audio-kinetic sculpture Kaleidophonic Dog(1967) by Stephan von Huene. These two projects provide valuable data for a revision of the notion of authenticity in both virtual archaeology and art conservation.[ES] La visualización deartefactos reconstruidos en 3D requiere a menudo demasiados recursos computacionales. La implementación en una aplicación de realidad virtual (RV) requiere incluso la reducción de la red poligonal delobjeto.Consecuentemente,la comunicación y la divulgaciónde reconstrucciones 3D “auténticas”representa todavía una tarea casi imposiblepara muchos investigadores. ¿Pero se trata realmente solo de una cuestión de computación, o tiene algo que ver con una noción de autenticidad en un sentido“aurático”, es decir, con un enfoqueexcesivo sobre pruebas materiales y datosmensurables?En esteartículo discutimos los requisitos de autenticidad para la arqueología virtual tal y como se formulan en los “Principios de Sevilla” (2011) y analizamos algunaslimitaciones de los enfoques actuales. Proponemos,además,una noción pluralista basada en la contextualización de objetos 3D en entornos de RV con información sinestésica (es decir, multisensorial). Esta nueva noción de autenticidad se basa más enla conservación de significados que en la conservación de características físicas. En línea con esta propuesta teórica, se comentarán dos casos de estudio: la documentación multimodal 3D de la Columna de Júpiterde Ladenburg (II d.C.) y la recreación en RV de una obra de arte moderno, la escultura audio-cinética Kaleidophonic Dog(1967) de Stephan von Huene. Estos dos proyectos ofrecen experiencias valiosas para una revisión de la noción de autenticidad tanto en la arqueología virtual como en la conservación de arte.This work was supported by the Stadt Karlsruhe (“Interdisziplinärer Fördertopf”) and the HEiKAResearch fonds (HEiKA, Heidelberg Karlsruhe Research Partnership)Muñoz Morcillo, J.; Schaaf, F.; Schneider, RH.; Robertson-Von Trotha, CY. (2017). Authenticity through VR-based documentation of cultural heritage. A theoretical approach based on conservation and documentation practices. Virtual Archaeology Review. 8(16):35-43. doi:10.4995/var.2017.5932.SWORD354381