Cyberarchaeology: Experimenting with teleimmersive archaeology

Abstract

We present a framework for collaborative cyberarchaeology aimed at remote real-time interaction with 3D archaeological models through a shared virtual environment. The project combines research in 3D computer vision, collaborative virtual reality and archaeology. At each geographical location, a set of stereo cameras captures 3D video of the user in real time to create his/her avatar. The 3D data with audio is sent over the network and rendered in the shared virtual environment. The teleimmersive aspect of this work provides a novel approach to interaction and interpretation of 3D archeological models by facilitating immersive experience in collaborative setting of remote users. The framework is aimed to facilitate in the future the study and analysis of a virtual reconstruction process in archaeology with the help from virtual community to re-contextualize and reassemble spatial archaeological data.