Short URL

Virtual Center Goals

 

Other Center for Heritage Visualization areas:

Loading, please wait...

The goal of this project is to expand the use, value and effectiveness of heritage visualization for both interpretation and scholarly analysis by providing the community with a readily accessible knowledge base and access to a variety of topics dealing with techniques available for visual presentation of archeological data as well as content dealing with significant issues of validation, accuracy, multiple representation and others . Among other things, the site will be designed to provide a basic understanding of the workings of 3D data collection/authoring software, web development software and design principles, web-based media delivery, digital imaging software for documents, and the process of capturing/editing digital video for presentation via VHS, DVD, & Streaming Web.

Traditional methods of interpretation of the past are of diminishing impact particularity with the young. Younger people are increasingly exposed to high quality visual and interactive media and are "turned-off" by many traditional, passive, interpretive approaches. Widespread use of computer visualization technologies by heritage professionals will significantly expand the interpretation of America's past for the general public and the critical young demographic. The high-quality products that result from the creation of visualization create a wider audience for cultural heritage issues and ultimately will aid in better historic preservation planning decision making and development of preservation planning tools. It allows the public to explore archeological and historic worlds that traditionally exist only at the level of mental reconstructions.

The benefit of virtual archeology also goes beyond its very significant presentation value by enhancing scholarly analysis and interpretation. The process of three-dimensional model creation will often lead to additional discoveries that significantly increase understanding. The process of creating virtual worlds often provokes novel and interesting questions. For example the development of individual object visualizations using high-end visualization software (e.g. SoftImage) frequently requires the development of visualization primitives and the manipulation of these primitives in ways that closely mimic the actual physical construction of the object. The visual reconstruction of a house leads to questions about structural elements, interior design, the presence or absence of furniture or wall decorations.

Goals Include:

· Development of an Internet accessible, methodologically centered knowledge base of heritage visualization and virtual history/archeology resources

· Development of a set of 'how-to' tutorials that will guide potential practitioners through techniques for the creation of a variety of virtual products

· Development and deployment of the 'products' created in the course development of the tutorials, such as building models, fly-throughs, and landscape reconstructions, to the Arkansas State Parks interpretive programs to improve public understanding of elements of cultural heritage that are inaccessible, whether they no longer exist; they are too distant to be accessed by normal means, or access is otherwise restricted The linkage of this effort with the practical public interpretative requirements of a state parks program will insure that the resources address issues of implementation and are usable and properly structured for the needs and limitations of real-world interpretive use as well as the needs of the scholarly community.