Throughout the learning process the main consideration was that of the real time environment aspect within the project. Quest 3D was the computer software that was learned and applied to create the real time environment of the historically reconstructed Nottingham castle model. The earlier approaches to create simple environments were constructive, tutorials and informative research help gain the required knowledge to take on and develop the final real time environment, overall the results are quite positive.
Researching about 3D historical reconstructions two projects (Rome and the Sao Paolo reconstructions) gave me an understanding of how the process works, from early stages of research, modelling and finally visualisation and real time production. I feel that these as well as my own project can offer promise at not just being a replica (whether a place exists or not) but also mimicking the real experience.
The 3D historical reconstruction of Nottingham Castle I feel advances a visitors perception to that of the existing scale model that is cased in the museum itself. Allowing a user to step inside medieval Nottingham and giving a sense of virtual presence and immersion, permitting situations and questions such as 'What is here?' 'What is happening at this time?' and 'If I investigate and explore will I find out?' and thus begins interaction, exploration and understanding.
This project provides this information, users can see what buildings were present before its change through history. The aim of my historical reconstruction is to provide evidence taken from pictures and plans of the castle and providing a new and fresh alternative method to castle visitors to view, entertain, learn, encourage and entice.
In the future the project could grow in terms of content and context, the main reason for this would be to further enhance the quality of the visual feel which in turn will entice a visitor to explore further into the project as well as stimulating a higher sense of immersion.
The advancement of higher quality models and textures could be implemented and make the content appear more appealing to the eye. Further research and development into medieval, architecture and materials of that period would provide information needed to do this.More advanced mapping techniques have been investigated that support the use of real time environments. Adapting these can enhance the level of detail of the models textures in the design stage.
The implementation of sound (both Foley and environmental). These would be used to mimic real world sounds and go give a visitor in particular a spatial awareness within the environment (Murphy, D 2001). The use of localisation cues could be executed to create sounds from adjacent environments and slowly fade away as the visitor walks into the distance.
The implementation of information such as text, story telling and/or an on screen actor that provides informative components about certain areas of the castle as a visitor walk around. Such as, a brief history of the main gatehouse or what the caves below the castle were used for.
A graphic user interface could be exploited to not only to give an aesthetically pleasing look to the on screen project but also to hold information such as buttons which could allow a guest to 'camera jump' from one side of the castle grounds to the other without having to physically walk through it in the virtual environment.
Implementation of "Jumping through time". Hotspots may possibly be exercised to allow a user to change time periods and see how the castle developed or indeed came to its demise as time passed on. Multiple environments and static 3D models would have to be built.
Web technology and use of virtual space online (Thomas and Carey 2005) initially could be considered as a platform for efficiently displaying work with documents and images such as information from this project, with the potential to reach a larger audience and bring cultural heritage to interested internet users. (See Pavlidis. G 2006) The tales of Robin Hood are greatly and widely known and with this link - even though not in the same time period could potentially entice visitors more so to investigate.
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Evaluation of product and thoughts
Comprehensive knowledge of the subject area was needed both in terms of informative historical resources about Nottingham castle and computerised real time environments in which generated reconstructed imagery could be displayed. This display will in fact be a means of interaction for the attended audience.Interpretation of historical data and information from the 16th century enabled the recreation of the castle, in which the 3D static model would be used on a real time environment.
A computerised real time environment generated with the results from the 3D historical reconstruction enables a user to walk through in their own leisure, being able to explore in their own time. The fundamental role of creating a virtual presence is incorporated at this stage by means of accurate historical design, effective graphics and well planned interaction.
The historical information accumulated over the course of the research process provided a vast understanding of the subject area, achieving this was a vital first step into the castle reconstruction. Complete plans and information was not found, due to a lot of information being secondary evidence there are areas of which are presumptions about the castle's construction.
Time and consideration was taken in the castle reconstruction, not only to build and make it as historically accurate as possible but also to texture it to a standard that is accurate and visually appealing. Making the castle aesthetically pleasing will engage a visitor more to look round in the real time environment.The real time environment was created to inform a visitor of what the castle used to look like in the 16th century. The amount of historical information gathered was used to generate a model that is historically accurate and visual pleasing, the project has achieved this.
However, the main question to be asked is does the interactive 3D reconstruction of a historical environment aid a users understanding? With the use of a real time environment the following two aspects need to be addressed; Interaction and immersion (Gaitatzes, A 2001).
The 3D real time environment is interactive, a potential visitor can easily walk through and explore and learn about the period of time and what existed. The fundamental role is played by the part of a individual who is interacting with the environment, a virtual presence (Di Blas 2005) needs to be established where factors such as the look of the environment, interactivity, a visitors imagination and the sense of 'being there' is applied and immersion can in fact take place.To a certain degree I feel that this project has achieved this however there are other factors that could be implemented into the real time environment which could create a larger virtual presence such as sound and high level detailed objects. Future installations of this project could put into practice these advancements to create a stunning visual as well as an informative understanding of that period of time.
A computerised real time environment generated with the results from the 3D historical reconstruction enables a user to walk through in their own leisure, being able to explore in their own time. The fundamental role of creating a virtual presence is incorporated at this stage by means of accurate historical design, effective graphics and well planned interaction.
The historical information accumulated over the course of the research process provided a vast understanding of the subject area, achieving this was a vital first step into the castle reconstruction. Complete plans and information was not found, due to a lot of information being secondary evidence there are areas of which are presumptions about the castle's construction.
Time and consideration was taken in the castle reconstruction, not only to build and make it as historically accurate as possible but also to texture it to a standard that is accurate and visually appealing. Making the castle aesthetically pleasing will engage a visitor more to look round in the real time environment.The real time environment was created to inform a visitor of what the castle used to look like in the 16th century. The amount of historical information gathered was used to generate a model that is historically accurate and visual pleasing, the project has achieved this.
However, the main question to be asked is does the interactive 3D reconstruction of a historical environment aid a users understanding? With the use of a real time environment the following two aspects need to be addressed; Interaction and immersion (Gaitatzes, A 2001).
The 3D real time environment is interactive, a potential visitor can easily walk through and explore and learn about the period of time and what existed. The fundamental role is played by the part of a individual who is interacting with the environment, a virtual presence (Di Blas 2005) needs to be established where factors such as the look of the environment, interactivity, a visitors imagination and the sense of 'being there' is applied and immersion can in fact take place.To a certain degree I feel that this project has achieved this however there are other factors that could be implemented into the real time environment which could create a larger virtual presence such as sound and high level detailed objects. Future installations of this project could put into practice these advancements to create a stunning visual as well as an informative understanding of that period of time.
Testing and Evaluation continued...
After further testing and evaluation another discrepancy was found in the castle model, this time on some of the textures. When applying the stone textures to the various buildings a lot of textures seem to be larger than others or not aligned properly. Below is an example of this.
To amend these, each texture for each building had to be amended via mapping co-ordinates to adjust the height, width and alignment. Once this process was complete, the whole castle had to be imported into Quest 3D once more.
Whilst viewing the real time environment it was suggested that the windows be replaced with actual textures to represent the windows, before were blue boxes and this was unsatisfactory. To follow on from the user feedback it was suggested that by having borders (in this case a wooden texture) to signify the window on a building would make it more visually appealing. This can be seen below.
Despite the fact that navigation can be done via keyboard (forward, back, sidestep left, sidestep right) and mouse (direction of view) an alternative method was suggested. If the use of a tracker ball mouse alone instead of the use of a keyboard and mouse, a user can pick up quickly and easily how to navigate through the environment.
This was easily set up in the real time software by assigning the left mouse button to move forwards, whilst the tracker ball can be utilized as a direction view such as a person moving their head around to see. This not only reduces the method of input but also increase ease of use.
To amend these, each texture for each building had to be amended via mapping co-ordinates to adjust the height, width and alignment. Once this process was complete, the whole castle had to be imported into Quest 3D once more.Whilst viewing the real time environment it was suggested that the windows be replaced with actual textures to represent the windows, before were blue boxes and this was unsatisfactory. To follow on from the user feedback it was suggested that by having borders (in this case a wooden texture) to signify the window on a building would make it more visually appealing. This can be seen below.
Despite the fact that navigation can be done via keyboard (forward, back, sidestep left, sidestep right) and mouse (direction of view) an alternative method was suggested. If the use of a tracker ball mouse alone instead of the use of a keyboard and mouse, a user can pick up quickly and easily how to navigate through the environment.
This was easily set up in the real time software by assigning the left mouse button to move forwards, whilst the tracker ball can be utilized as a direction view such as a person moving their head around to see. This not only reduces the method of input but also increase ease of use.Monday, 29 June 2009
Testing and Evaluation
During the 3D reconstruction stage human errors can occur and it is with my own user testing as well as feedback from others that allows errors and adjustments to be seen. Before the project comes to a close these errors and adjustments must be amended before the final real time environment can be created and the contribution justified to the ideas of historical reconstruction of Nottingham Castle.
Firstly the feedback gained from previous post about amending the ground texture was positive, the dull grass before was not engaging enough nor aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The new texture has significantly improved the reconstructed castle and the mood of the environment leading to encouraging results.
As it is difficult to spot some discrepancies when you have worked on a project for nearly nine months a fresh pair of eyes and user feedback is invaluable. A means of testing the real times environment was to actually show the real time environment and not just the 3D model in its creative software.
Below are 2 discrepancies that user testing found out, one shows a wall that appears to be 'floating' (this was probably occurred when altering the terrain and height. The second shows part of a wall missing (this was due to deleting a polygon by mistake). If these were not t be found a user may not just comment on how they feel about the 16th castle but also errors they saw whilst walking through it in the real time environment.
Firstly the feedback gained from previous post about amending the ground texture was positive, the dull grass before was not engaging enough nor aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The new texture has significantly improved the reconstructed castle and the mood of the environment leading to encouraging results.
As it is difficult to spot some discrepancies when you have worked on a project for nearly nine months a fresh pair of eyes and user feedback is invaluable. A means of testing the real times environment was to actually show the real time environment and not just the 3D model in its creative software.
Below are 2 discrepancies that user testing found out, one shows a wall that appears to be 'floating' (this was probably occurred when altering the terrain and height. The second shows part of a wall missing (this was due to deleting a polygon by mistake). If these were not t be found a user may not just comment on how they feel about the 16th castle but also errors they saw whilst walking through it in the real time environment.
Monday, 22 June 2009
New terrain textures
This week I have been concentrating on creating a better aesthetic feel to the model by giving the ground textures a more appealing and more interesting look. As you can see from the imagery below it has greatly improved visually from previous posts where only plain grass was present.
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Enhancing the experience
As discussed so far in previous blog posts 3D historical reconstructed models can be placed inside their original period of time and context using varying augmented resources such as photography, paintings, diagrams, manuscripts, models and artefacts (Boeykens, S 2008) . We have seen this can be beneficial especially in cases where a building or an area is decayed or even non existent anymore (such as Nottingham Castle). Utilizing 3D techniques recreating buildings can provide insight into the evolution of a particular building or site.
Web based presentations offer users the 'interactive' advantages whilst exploring a virtual environment. A form of this can be seen at the Virtual Old Prague project (http://www.cgg.cvut.cz/vsp/). Where, a user can walk through the application on screen and explore in their own time and pace. Other web based environments offer a multi-user experience such as Second Life (http://secondlife.com/)/ Here, users can meet others and discuss opinions, ask questions and also learn in this environment. This approach is directly applicable to real social interaction (Zara, J 2004) - as you may find in a museum.
As the Nottingham Castle project is based on a 3D real-time application where a user can walk through the castle grounds on a computer screen an advancement from this immersive and interactive experience is virtual reality. Virtual reality offers an exploration of an exhibit arranged in a virtual scene and the main difference from the previous approaches is that users virtually enter the space and get the feeling of being part of the environment, engaging a new generation of visitors (Negroponte, N 2003).
In an everyday environment we do not just have a visual element but also have spatial sound. The attributes of spatial sound can affect a users perception of an environment (Murphy, D 2001). The paper titled ' Spatial Sound Enhancing Virtual Story Telling' states the failure of a virtual reconstructed project of Cork in Ireland. It's aim was to simulate interest in the history of the area and encourage exploration of the medieval remains in the area. The evaluation of the project suggests that the level of detail of the models may not have been enough and that the users were more interested in the interactive features rather then content. The evaluation continues by stating the use of sounds (Foley & Environmental) and that these sounds are used to give a feeling of immersion in an environment. This case, to lure and persuade users to explore further. Boeykens argues this and suggests that it is not necessary to create realistic representations but to create attractive visual representations that are over layered with additional information, which will provide more insight into an environment and appeal to a wider audience.
The failure in this project has given my an insight into the Nottingham Castle project. The use of sound is a simple tool that can be used to immerse a user further than just real time interaction and imagery. An interesting concept that the Cork project used was having 'hotspots' where a user can in effect jump from a medieval model to the present day model. This could also be used for the Nottingham Castle model allowing a user to potentially see the development of the site through time.
References
Boeykens, S., Neuckermans (2008) Architectural Design Analysis, Historical Reconstruction and Structured Archival Using 3D Models.
Murphy, D., Pitt, I. (2001) Spatial Sound Enhancing Virtual Story Telling. Computer Science Department, University College, Cork, Ireland.
Nandi, A., Marcichal, X. (2000) Interactive Immersive Transfiction
Negroponte, N., (2003) Virtual Reality in Museums, Sunrise Virtual reality.
Zara, J. (2004) Virtual Reality and Cultural Heritage on the Web.
Weblinks
http://secondlife.com/
http://www.cgg.cvut.cz/vsp/
Web based presentations offer users the 'interactive' advantages whilst exploring a virtual environment. A form of this can be seen at the Virtual Old Prague project (http://www.cgg.cvut.cz/vsp/). Where, a user can walk through the application on screen and explore in their own time and pace. Other web based environments offer a multi-user experience such as Second Life (http://secondlife.com/)/ Here, users can meet others and discuss opinions, ask questions and also learn in this environment. This approach is directly applicable to real social interaction (Zara, J 2004) - as you may find in a museum.
As the Nottingham Castle project is based on a 3D real-time application where a user can walk through the castle grounds on a computer screen an advancement from this immersive and interactive experience is virtual reality. Virtual reality offers an exploration of an exhibit arranged in a virtual scene and the main difference from the previous approaches is that users virtually enter the space and get the feeling of being part of the environment, engaging a new generation of visitors (Negroponte, N 2003).
In an everyday environment we do not just have a visual element but also have spatial sound. The attributes of spatial sound can affect a users perception of an environment (Murphy, D 2001). The paper titled ' Spatial Sound Enhancing Virtual Story Telling' states the failure of a virtual reconstructed project of Cork in Ireland. It's aim was to simulate interest in the history of the area and encourage exploration of the medieval remains in the area. The evaluation of the project suggests that the level of detail of the models may not have been enough and that the users were more interested in the interactive features rather then content. The evaluation continues by stating the use of sounds (Foley & Environmental) and that these sounds are used to give a feeling of immersion in an environment. This case, to lure and persuade users to explore further. Boeykens argues this and suggests that it is not necessary to create realistic representations but to create attractive visual representations that are over layered with additional information, which will provide more insight into an environment and appeal to a wider audience.
The failure in this project has given my an insight into the Nottingham Castle project. The use of sound is a simple tool that can be used to immerse a user further than just real time interaction and imagery. An interesting concept that the Cork project used was having 'hotspots' where a user can in effect jump from a medieval model to the present day model. This could also be used for the Nottingham Castle model allowing a user to potentially see the development of the site through time.
References
Boeykens, S., Neuckermans (2008) Architectural Design Analysis, Historical Reconstruction and Structured Archival Using 3D Models.
Murphy, D., Pitt, I. (2001) Spatial Sound Enhancing Virtual Story Telling. Computer Science Department, University College, Cork, Ireland.
Nandi, A., Marcichal, X. (2000) Interactive Immersive Transfiction
Negroponte, N., (2003) Virtual Reality in Museums, Sunrise Virtual reality.
Zara, J. (2004) Virtual Reality and Cultural Heritage on the Web.
Weblinks
http://secondlife.com/
http://www.cgg.cvut.cz/vsp/
Thursday, 4 June 2009
Why Historical Reconstruction? Part 2/2
Real-time computer generated 3D environments offer two basic advantages to users (Gaitatzes, A). That of am immersive experience, where the illusion of being in the projected world occurs and the user sees themselves 'living' in the experience presented before them.
Gaitatzes follows on by saying it offers a 'better than real life' or 'better than being there' experience. The argument presented by Zuffo suggests that providing enough model details to enable an accurate historical representation should be as important as the availability and usability for a diverse range of users. Some of which may not be familiar with different technology and ways of using it.
The second advantage is interaction. The fact that an audience are not merely watching a realistic historical reconstruction on a computer screen but to actively participate in the experience. As the projected graphics are simply not pre recorded and set out as a visual story but an actual real-time the user can define movement, behaviour and thus creates immersion as described above.
Having looked at the advantages of why using real time historical reconstructions, the benefit to an audience in terms of an interactive and immersive experience it can be seen as a powerful tool. The museum experience can thus be altered to benefit visitors, using computer aided real time visuals as well as traditional informative presentations such as images, artefacts and documents. Giving visitors the opportunities to explore and interact within exhibits provides a means of learning (Hall, T). They argue that using augmented methods such as combining the use of digital and physical environments enhances a visitors interaction in these 'Living Exhibitions'.
References
Gaitatzes, A., Chritopoulos, D., Voulgari, A., Roussou, M. (2001) Hellenic Cultural Heritage through Immersive Virtual Archaeology.
Hall, T., Benford, S., Bowers, S (2002) The Visitor as Virtual Archaeologist: Explorations in Mixed Reality Technology to Enhance Educational and Social Interaction in the Museum.
Zuffo, M., Cabral, M., Nomura, L., Nagamura, M., Andrade, F., Ghirotti, S., Belloc, O., (2007)X3D Experiences on Historical Architectural Digital Reconstruction: A case Study of Sao Paulo city in 1911.
Zara, J. (2004) Virtual Reality and Cultural Heritage on the Web.
Weblinks
http://www.romereborn.virginia.edu/
Gaitatzes follows on by saying it offers a 'better than real life' or 'better than being there' experience. The argument presented by Zuffo suggests that providing enough model details to enable an accurate historical representation should be as important as the availability and usability for a diverse range of users. Some of which may not be familiar with different technology and ways of using it.
The second advantage is interaction. The fact that an audience are not merely watching a realistic historical reconstruction on a computer screen but to actively participate in the experience. As the projected graphics are simply not pre recorded and set out as a visual story but an actual real-time the user can define movement, behaviour and thus creates immersion as described above.
Having looked at the advantages of why using real time historical reconstructions, the benefit to an audience in terms of an interactive and immersive experience it can be seen as a powerful tool. The museum experience can thus be altered to benefit visitors, using computer aided real time visuals as well as traditional informative presentations such as images, artefacts and documents. Giving visitors the opportunities to explore and interact within exhibits provides a means of learning (Hall, T). They argue that using augmented methods such as combining the use of digital and physical environments enhances a visitors interaction in these 'Living Exhibitions'.
References
Gaitatzes, A., Chritopoulos, D., Voulgari, A., Roussou, M. (2001) Hellenic Cultural Heritage through Immersive Virtual Archaeology.
Hall, T., Benford, S., Bowers, S (2002) The Visitor as Virtual Archaeologist: Explorations in Mixed Reality Technology to Enhance Educational and Social Interaction in the Museum.
Zuffo, M., Cabral, M., Nomura, L., Nagamura, M., Andrade, F., Ghirotti, S., Belloc, O., (2007)X3D Experiences on Historical Architectural Digital Reconstruction: A case Study of Sao Paulo city in 1911.
Zara, J. (2004) Virtual Reality and Cultural Heritage on the Web.
Weblinks
http://www.romereborn.virginia.edu/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)