THE ABSTRACT

The world is continuously changing and evolving, reshaped by man and nature alike, and many parts of our history are constantly being lost to time. Unfortunately, we may never recover lost information but we can work to preserve what is left. In this project, we introduce a new era of technology to archaeological research by digitally scanning and recreating excavation sites with eXtended Reality (XR). Using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and digital photography, we can store high resolution and accurate representations of physical locations. These saved locations can then be loaded in Virtual Reality (VR) devices such as a modern smartphone or an Oculus device and enables users to visit archaeological sites in a virtual environment. Our project demonstrates that with equipment we have today, we can build and experience Maya excavation sites in both an AR iOS application and a Unity VR application.

AN INTRODUCTION

The human race has been around for tens of thousands of years but we only have written history dating back a couple of thousand years. And while we may not have any surviving members or recorded documentation of lost civilizations, the remainants of their time on our planet can still remain in the form of excavation sites where we can learn about these lost cultures. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever and these old relics and sites are constantly being destroyed either by nature reclaiming them or by us in negligence.

Therefore, we need to act now in order to preserve our race’s history and lost knowledge today. With modern technology, we can digitally scan and record these ancient locations so that we can reproduce and share them not unlike regular computer files. Additionally, with emerging technology into XR (eXtended Reality), we can experience a simulation of actually being there in person.

This project is aimed to assist archaeological researchers and interested personnel alike. Our goal is to use existing methods of scanning and recording these sites into digital mediums to produce applications that can see widespread adoption. We have two goals currently: a mobile application that can be run on nearly any smartphone and a more advanced, fully immersive virtual reality application that can be run on the increasing number of hardware configurations.

OUR APPROACH

Since we are targeting two applications with similar functionality, there will no doubt be some overlap between the two. However, while they will use similar frameworks, we concluded that the two applications are different enough to warrant separate development paths.

Mobile Smartphone Augmented Reality Application (iPhone / iPad ARKit)

The goal of this project is to target smartphones using ARCore (Android) or ARKit (iOS) and build a virtual portal that can allow anyone from anywhere to view and interact with an archeological excavation site or experience a personalized tour of the area using augmented reality. This allows the phone to be utilized as a window into new worlds for the user.

The user should be able to simply launch the application or visit a website on their mobile device and be greeted with an interface to select on where to travel and how to interact with the virtual world. The application should then either create a virtual portal that can be used to view and travel to an excavation site or recreate an ancient relic that can be examined and interacted with.

We are first using Maya sites as we already have the data for them and clients ready to use the product when it is finished. Additionally, we will be using Unity Engine and ARKit to start off with before expanding to support other devices on the market.

Fully Immersive Virtual Reality Standalone Application (OpenVR SDK)

The goal of this project is to target virtual reality setups such as the Oculus Quest (Standalone mobile) or HTC Vive (Dedicated PC) and build an immersive application where the user can travel to a virtual recreation of an excavation site to explore and interact with it. This would allow a researcher to quickly make new observations or anyone else experience discovering lost relics and locations.

The user should be able to launch the application with the virtual reality setup and be greeted with an interface to select what or where he or she would like to load. The user should then be transported to the excavation site and then be allowed to walk around and explore the site as if they were there in person. A user should also be able to interact with relics and handle them with the controllers if the hardware supports it.

For unfamiliar users, there will be accessible audio recordings in predetermined areas that can play a transcript from an expert or a guided tour option that will allow for a personalized tour of the area.

We are starting with Maya excavation sites as we already have data on them and potential clients ready to use the application when it’s finished. The application will be built using Unity Engine and the OpenVR SDK to easily expand widespread support (from the development setup) across various hardware configurations going forward.