Kinect and 3D GIS in Archaeology

Abstract -This paper explores the potential of using Microsoft's Kinect to create a low-cost and portable system to virtually navigate, through a prototype 3D GIS, the digitally reconstructed ancient Maya city and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Copan in Honduras. The 3D GIS, named QueryArch3D, was developed as part of the MayaArch3D project (http://mayaarch3d.unm.edu), which explores the possibilities of integrating databases and 3D digital tools for research and teaching on ancient architectures and landscapes. The developed system, based on the Flexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST), controls in a remote and touchless mode the movements in the 3D environment in order to create a sense of spatial awareness and embodiment. A user can thus use gestures to interact with information stored in the spatial database, calling up photos, videos, textual descriptions as he/she moves through the virtual space of the ancient Maya city

Exploring Fragmented Data : Environments, People and the Senses in Virtual Reality

Taking into consideration that archaeologists and historians are today more frequently encouraged to think in terms of digital transduction of historical materials, this chapter focuses on the potentials and pitfalls of ‘visualizing’ ‘recre- ating’ and ‘re-enacting/experiencing the senses’ in Virtual Reality (thereon VR) environments. More precisely, we focus on the very idea of sensory immersion for archaeological enquiry, research, study and dissemination. This chapter draws upon four VR projects at Humlab, Umeå University. The first is an example of using archae- ological data for supporting the interpretation process in a Mesolithic site, environ- ment from GIS to an immersive platform. The second is a result of collaborative work with the project ancient dance modern dancers (Slaney et al. 2018) in capturing the intangible art of Roman Pantomime in the theatre of Pompeii on Virtual Reality. The third is the implementation of interactive tools for an immersive study of photogram- metric models of medieval rock-cut settlements while the fourth is an assessment of the implementation of VR Google Earth in teaching ancient topography for under- graduate archaeology students. We show how important and interesting research is made in the process of tool experimentation and tool development

Geospatial Virtual Heritage: A Gesture-Based 3D GIS to Engage the Public with Ancient Maya Archaeology

This paper presents our research to develop a gesture-based 3D GIS system to engage the public in cultural heritage. It compares two types of interaction—device-based vs. natural interaction— and summarizes the beta-testing results of a 3D GIS tool for archaeology, called QueryArch3D, in which participants used device-based interaction (i.e. mouse and keyboard). It follows with a description of the gesture-based system—that we developed in response to these beta-tests. The system uses QueryArch3D and Microsoft’s Kinect to enable people use body movements (in lieu of keyboard or mouse) to navigate a virtual reality landscape, query 3D objects, and call up photos, videos, and text. The case study is the ancient Maya city of Copan—today an UNESCO World Heritage site in Honduras. The low cost and portable system is ideal for museum exhibitions even in developing countries and can be adapted for archaeological content throughout the world