Virtual Valcamonica: collaborative exploration of prehistoric petroglyphs and their surrounding environment in multi-user virtual reality

Kulik, Alexander; Kunert, André; Beck, Stephan; Matthes, Carl-Feofan; Schollmeyer, Andre; Kreskowski, Adrian; Fröhlich, Bernd; Cobb, Sue; D'Cruz, Mirabelle

Abstract

In this paper, we present a novel, multi-user, virtual reality environment for the interactive, collaborative 3D analysis of large 3D scans and the technical advancements that were necessary to build it: a multi-view rendering system for large 3D point clouds, a suitable display infrastructure and a suite of collaborative 3D interaction techniques. The cultural heritage site of Valcamonica in Italy with its large collection of prehistoric rock-art served as an exemplary use case for evaluation. The results show that our output-sensitive level-of-detail rendering system is capable of visualizing a 3D dataset with an aggregate size of more than 14 billion points at interactive frame rates. The system design in this exemplar application results from close exchange with a small group of potential users: archaeologists with expertise in rock-art and allows them to explore the prehistoric art and its spatial context with highly realistic appearance. A set of dedicated interaction techniques was developed to facilitate collaborative visual analysis. A multi-display workspace supports the immediate comparison of geographically distributed artifacts. An expert review of the final demonstrator confirmed the potential for added value in rock-art research and the usability of our collaborative interaction techniques.

Citation

Kulik, A., Kunert, A., Beck, S., Matthes, C.-F., Schollmeyer, A., Kreskowski, A., Fröhlich, B., Cobb, S., & D'Cruz, M. (2018). Virtual Valcamonica: collaborative exploration of prehistoric petroglyphs and their surrounding environment in multi-user virtual reality. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 26(3), https://doi.org/10.1162/pres_a_00297

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 17, 2018
• Online Publication Date: May 1, 2018
• Publication Date: Jul 30, 2018
• Deposit Date: Mar 26, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: May 1, 2018
• Journal: Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments
• Print ISSN: 1054-7460
• Electronic ISSN: 1531-3263
• Publisher: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 3
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/pres_a_00297
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/948458
• Publisher URL: https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/pres_a_00297
• Contract Date: Mar 26, 2018