The humanities are described as those branches of knowledge, such as philosophy, literature, and art, that are concerned with human thought and culture; the liberal arts. Art, a rather broad area of the humanities relates to creative activities such as painting, music and drama. Literature relates to written works that have artistic merit. As we will see, virtual reality can play a part in enhancing both of these branches, creatively and academically.
Three-Dimensional vision techniques created for use in virtual reality systems such as Quick Time VR, stereoscopic vision techniques, volumetric displays and immersive environments can all be of use within the humanities1. These technologies can be used to represent any visual art form, environment or situation realistically and interactively.
Simple techniques exist that allow the user of a system to interact with a light source and move it so that the effects of the light on a painting can be seen from many angles around the painting. It is a basic idea but it allows the user to gain an insight about the texture of the painting and brush strokes used to create it, this technology is similar to Quick Time VR. Quick Time VR is a 360-degree video made out of stitching images made from every angle around a single point. This technology can be used for example to display a photographic representation of the inside of a theatre that could be used to look at the architectural nature of such a structure.
The work completed by the 3D Visualisation Centre at Warwick University covers a large area of virtual reality in the humanities, some of their projects are:
Appia Project – Relating very closely to the research into performance and the dramatic arts, the Appia project was named after Adolphe Appia. Appia was a visionary who developed the experimental theatre Hellerau near Dresden in Germany that made use of innovative designs for performance space, scenography and stage lighting. After the First World War the theatre was used as a recreational facility for Hitler’s SS, and during the second world was as a barracks for Russian soldiers. The theatre requires restoration and work is currently being completed to do this in reality.
The 3D Visualisation Centre in the meantime to aid in the restoration process and to experiment with the concepts designed by Appia, recreated the theatre using virtual reality techniques. The visualisation is designed to help understand the architectural concepts and also allows for experimentation with the techniques developed by Appia by simulating the effects of various components created by him. Much of modern theatre is accredited to have been developed within the theatre. Appia’s techniques involved varying the light within the theatre to accord with changes in music and mood, other techniques involved reflecting light sources towards the external wall back through cloth curtains to create a diffused glow. Geometric blocks were used in the theatre as scenery.
The virtual version of Hellerau allowed for the creation of VR sets that could be varied depending on their purpose. For example settings that were never built at Hellerau can be simulated and stored to show what they look like and how they could be used. A complicated lighting technique called the lighting organ was created after extensive research into the possible methods of creating such a device. This virtual version can be used as a teaching aid allowing us to play the lighting organ to affect the mood within the theatre, to change sets and view the theatre from multiple, often impossible angles. This can be used to help us understand the concept of theatre being a total work of art, something Appia wanted to create with this project. Pompey Project – Another virtual reconstruction of the 3DVC was the Pompey Project. The Pompey theatre was large theatre that could hold a 35,000 strong audience. It was Rome’s earliest stone theatre and was constructed in 55B.C. The theatre no longer exists in its entirety with large parts having been built over by housing and other such structures. The virtual recreation has been constructed purely from architectural information based on studies by other scholars, noticeably Luigi Canina from the 19th Century. It is hoped that archaeological studies can be completed gradually to help verify the accuracy of the model and its position within the landscape. The 3DVC also hope to make the resource available online featuring hypertext links from each element of the model to an extensive database of scholarly articles, primary sources, photos and designs of relevant artefacts, and critical discussion and debate relating to the theatre and its location.
Pompeian Fresco Research – The 3DVC undertook a groundbreaking project to investigate scenes depicted on a number of Pompeian frescos. Using 3D modelling technology, the 3DVC created a series of reconstructions to allow scholars interactively to explore and analyse the structures shown in the frescos2. Through this research and exploration of the frescos various discoveries were made about the illusions used in the scenery used in theatrical performance dating back to 79A.D. It was discovered that vanishing point and perspective was used to create an illusion of a three-dimensional scene on the two-dimensional background.
A theme of the work conducted by the 3DVC is the use of virtual reality to answer real questions that are either difficult or impossible to answer otherwise. The project at Hellerau was considered impossible to synthesise from photography from before 1912, however the creation of the space virtually allowed hypotheses about it to be made and tested to gain a better understanding of the building. Much of their work can be used to allow students to understand the architectural nature of buildings, the way the stages in various theatres would be used for performance and even provide a method to understand what it is like to sit in a 50,000 seat theatre. Motion Capture development by the 3DVC looks to allow performances to be acted out in front of a blue-screen and the virtual environment projected onto the screen using the computer so students can grasp what it would actually be like performing on a stage setting from the past. Using virtual reality techniques for teaching and research is a theme we shall come across again in conflict simulation and in virtual reality.
The virtual museum, the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris is another interesting example of the use of virtual reality in the humanities. The project helps with the visualization of various design scenarios within the museum such as access for the disabled. The project can function as a tool for curators planning future exhibitions and in a similar way to the methods described above lighting, sound and positioning of artifacts can be manipulated. The museum can be experienced in an immersive environment that allows for a greater level of interaction with it, allowing users to move around objects and gain an understanding of scale and positioning within the setting.
Augmented reality (AR) is another field of virtual reality. Described in the VR section of this portfolio it overlays digital information on the real world. A display is used such as a modified pair of glasses or a mobile phone. On the glasses digital information will be reflected off the back of the glass so that the user can perceive it. The mobile phone would display information on its display screen. The concept of augmented reality is to take in information about the surrounding environment and augment the scene in some way by providing information about it, such as the location of the person in relation to their home, or maybe intended goal.
A concept described in the virtual reality section is the combination of AR with image recognition techniques such as content-based image retrieval. The augmented reality device would be connected to an optical sensor such as a camera; the device in turn would have access to a database of images through a hard wired or wireless connection. Within an art gallery it could be possible for the user to hold the camera up to a particular portrait or sculpture, the information about it would be sent to the computer where it would query the image database using the basic measurements and features of the image. The image could be matched to one in the database and the information relating to that image could be displayed on the augmented reality display to enhance the experience of seeing the picture. This could be extended outside of a gallery situation to allow users to query any visual art form they come across. Although it depends on the accuracy of the CBIR system, with such developments already in existence a technology such as this could easily be bought into existence.
Augmented reality has been implemented in a project called Archeoguide. Archeoguide looks at overlapping virtual objects on archaeological sites, the purpose of the project being to provide new ways of accessing information at these sites of cultural heritage. As the user moves around a particular site wearing a special headset (Head Mounted Display (HMD)) consisting of a camera, a microphone; earphone and connected to a lightweight computer. The computer is connected through a wireless connection to a site server and devices that allow it to sense the position and orientation of the user. As the user moves around in the site the mobile units communicate with the site information server to download information relevant to the new area of the site the user has entered, this information is then displayed visually on the head mounted display and through audio description through the earphone. In theory the objects presented on the display can be entire buildings reconstructed virtually, or they can be artefacts that may have been found in the area the user is standing, again reconstructed virtually, or as the scene may have been first discovered.
Virtual reality because of its nature favours three-dimensional environments. However it could be possible to create virtual three-dimensional works of art in the same way a digital artist would create a digital image. Computer aided design and the creation of architectural works is an example of how VR representations are currently used, but these methods could easily be adapted for other purposes. Some of the research that we will come to look at in writing and narrative and conflict simulation will show how virtual reality environments can be adapted for education, but one important example relating to the humanities is the work completed by Robertson and Good (2005) researching the use of game design to aid in the development of storytelling. The game creation process helping to create literacy skills needed to be able to tell well formed and interesting stories – literary works being an important area of the humanities.
References
http://archeoguide.intranet.gr/project.htm - accessed June 12th 2005
www.felix3d.com/www/index.php?show=Applications - accessed June 12th 2005
Rosenbloom, A. Interactive Immersion in 3D Computer Graphics. Communications of the ACM, 47(8), August 2004, pp28-31
www.theatron.co.uk/hellerau.htm - accessed June 12th 2005
www.warwick.ac.uk/3d/portfolio.html - accessed June 12th 2005
www.yourdictionary.com - accessed June 12th 2005