Virtual Archaeology Review publishes Virtual Avebury Paper

The Virtual Archaeology Review has just published Professor Liz Falconer's paper on the Virtual Avebury project we did last year. The paper looks at the response to the VR experience by visitors to the National Trusts Avebury Visitor Centre - where two people at a time could collaboratively explore the Avebury site as was - i.e. without a village being built in the middle of it and all the missing stones replaced!

You can read the paper at: https://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/var/article/view/12924/12360

Key findings included:

• More than 1200 members of the public experienced a 3D, fully immersive simulation of Avebury Henge, Wiltshire, UK over a nine-month period.
• Patterns of use and familiarity with information technology (IT), and using mobile technologies for gaming were found that did not follow age and gender stereotypes.
• There was little correlation between age, gender and IT familiarity with reactions to Virtual Avebury, suggesting that such simulations might have wide appeal for heritage site visitors.

Some of the key data are shown below:

Emotional Responses to Virtual Avebury

Experiences of Virtual Avebury

Responses to the Virtual Avebury Soundscape

Read the full paper at: https://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/var/article/view/12924/12360

Museum Thresholds - Using VR and 3D in support of museum and gallery design

Daden MD David Burden contributed a chapter to this recently published book ‘Museum Thresholds: The Design and Media of Arrival’ on the design of museum, gallery and other public building threshold spaces. The book is published by Routledge and edited by a team from the School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester.

The book came out of a fabulous collaborate and creative project funded by AHRC on Transforming Thresholds. The book is a celebration of not just the potential of the museum threshold itself, but of the creative power that comes from thinkers, designers and creators bringing their interdisciplinary skills together.

David's chapter focuses on the 3 Ring Model of 3D models that was developed out of Daden's work on the Virtual Library of Birmingham project.

** BONUS - READ FOR FREE! **

For the next 60 days you can read the book on-line for free at https://rdcu.be/4fpn.

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Some images used in the book are shown below.

The Virtual Library of Birmingham - built 2 years before the physical opening

The central atrium in the model

The central atrium 2 years later in the physical build

Exploring the Virtual Library in an early Oculus Rift DK1