A Virtual Reality Platform for Analyzing Remote Archaeological Sites

Abstract

This paper describes a Virtual Reality (VR) prototype developed to help archaeologists and other stakeholders explore and analyse archaeological data in a more immersive context. We describe a VR reconstruction of Pleito Cave, a fragile world class rock-art site with accessibility limitation. Key stakeholders are identified and a prototype is described that provides a VR platform for visualizing and interacting with complex archaeological data (gathered from techniques such as decorrelation stretch and X-ray fluorescence) virtually ‘in situ’, in a way that would not be possible at the real site. The prototype allows multiple remote users to interact with the cave together remotely providing opportunities for collaborative interpretation and analysis of archaeological data. We also present a survey-based evaluation in which both archaeologists and Native American stakeholders indicate positive responses for measures of both engagement and value. Research Highlights An interactive, multi-user, immersive archaeological data visualization tool is described. Survey evaluation elicits insights into where the system provides value and engagement for key stakeholders. Thematic Analysis provides further design insights for future development of immersive archaeological data visualization tools.

Heart rate variability analysis for the assessment of immersive emotional arousal using virtual reality: Comparing real and virtual scenarios

“…In addition, the subjects carried a backpack which contained a laptop that recorded the signals (Fig 2). The detailed methods to process and synchronise the navigation data were described in [32]. The subjects were asked, also, to evaluate the noise emitted by the sensors: "During the test, did you feel annoyed by the sensors?".…”

“…Signals less than 40 seconds duration were rejected. An analysis of the navigation was detailed in [32]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254098.g003…”

“…Heydarian et al (2015) compared user performance in office-related activities such as reading text, and showed that they performed similarly in all measures in tasks in the virtual and the real-life environment [31]. Marín-Morales et al (2019) compared navigation paths in free exploration in a real and a virtual museum, and showed differences during the first 2 minutes of the explorations [32]. On the other hand, the direct comparison of physiological responses is still an open issue.…”

Advent City: die Rekonstruktion einer untergegangenen Siedlung in der virtuellen Realität

“…Während der Zugang zu Fachzeitschriften, zu Museen oder gar zu den Fundstellen selbst, auf wenige Privilegierte beschränkt ist, lassen sich digitale Inhalte nahezu weltweit abrufen. Nicht zuletzt können sie dabei helfen, die archäologischen Zeugnisse vor Zerstörung durch übermäßigen Tourismus zu beschützen, indem sie virtuell erlebt und verstanden werden können (Cassidy et al, 2019). Grundvoraussetzung hierfür ist der freie und uneingeschränkte Zugang zu den virtuellen Umgebungen.…”

Impact of visuomotor feedback on the embodiment of virtual hands detached from the body

“…Moreover, several VR applications represent the user by means of virtual disconnected hands that they can move and control. For example, disconnected hands have been used for virtual bimanual assembly tasks 29 , archaeological exploration 30 , medical training 31 , flight simulations 32 , and VR keyboard inputs 33 . Since these VR applications can potentially be used in real-life training and rehabilitation contexts, it is important to understand the impact of interacting with artificial hands that are disconnected from the body on motor behavior, threat-related responses, and embodiment.…”