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/