From: Mike Bevan Subject: CONF: Virtual Heritage '95 Date: October 10, 1995 Message-ID: <9510091744.aa05831@relay-3.mail.demon.net> From: Mike Bevan n Virtual Heritage '95 The Assembly Rooms Bath, England November 22nd Virtual Heritage '95, organised by VR NEWS, will be the world's first conference dedicated to the use of Virtual Reality and related technologies for heritage reconstruction and presentation. Bath is a World Heritage City in the West of England, under two hours by road from Heathrow airport. An abbreviated version of the press release, and the conference program follow. Press Release Heritage reconstruction is one of the fast-growing uses of Virtual Reality, with immense potential. Prehistoric settlements, early military fortifications, medieval cities, architectural masterpieces destroyed by war or time, the furnishings and ornaments and tools of the past - these can all now be re-created as full-scale virtual reality models, and examined and entered and explored. Archaeologists are using VR as a tool for visualising and experimenting with reconstructions. Many educationalists see VR reconstructions as a way to make the teaching of history more comprehensible and enjoyable. Those responsible for publicly-accessible ancient monuments are interested in incorporating VR 'walkarounds' for conservation reasons, while tourism and development agencies see huge commercial potential in VR-enhanced visitor access to heritage sites. The projects which will be demonstrated and described at the conference were selected to show the great variety and quality of the work that is being done internationally. The speakers will explain what is involved in heritage reconstructions at a practical level - technology, skills, resources, costs, timescales. They will also offer their views on less tangible matters, authenticity for example - is Virtual Heritage a scholarly pursuit, an opportunity for artistic expression, or just 'show business' - and how visible are the demarkation lines? Speaker List: Conference Chairman - Alan Benjamin OBE Alan Benjamin has both led and served the European computer industry with great distinction for over thirty years. A highly successful businessman and communicator, he was the first Director General of both the UK and European Computing Services Associations, Director of Corporate Communication for ICL, Chairman of the National Economic Development Organisation Working Group on Electronic Applications, and Chairman of the acclaimed 'Information Technology Year 1982' national awareness campaign, following which he was awarded the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty the Queen. His wide range of interests and appointments include membership of the Council of the City University and of the board of the London Symphony Orchestra, and leadership of the multi-disciplinary study team preparing proposals for the Northumberland Virtual Reality project, details of which will be presented for the first time publicly at this conference. Eben Gay The Fortress at Buhen, and the Learning Sites Project: The Learning Sites Project, led by archaeologist Dr Donald H. Sanders (Editor, Art & Architecture Thesaurus, J.Paul Getty Trust), seeks to integrate archaeological data with the capabilities of virtual reality to further education, research, and the preservation of cultural heritage. Interactive virtual worlds are being built using archaeological evidence from sites in Egypt, Greece, Nubia and Turkey. The presentation, by Eben Gay (Virtual Reality consultant, ERG Engineering Inc.), will include a videotaped exploration of Buhen, the Egyptian site that began the project, and selections from sites currently under development. Vincent Berge Cluny Abbey The Abbey of Cluny, once the greatest and most magnificently adorned church in Christendom, was vandalised and demolished in 1793, following the French revolution. Its recent graphical reconstruction, supported technically and logistically by IBM France, constitutes one of the most brilliant and successful examples of 'virtual heritage' to date. Vincent Berge, now European Virtual Reality Manager for IBM, was closely involved in the reconstruction. He will set out the background to the project, explain how the work was carried out, and discuss the difficult authenticity decisions which are faced in an undertaking such as this. Prof. Robert Stone The State of the Virtual Art Bob Stone is Director of the UK National Centre for Virtual Environments, and one of the world's most respected researchers in the field of Virtual Reality. In the late 1980s he created the VR laboratory at the National Advanced Robotics Research Centre, in Salford, and developed it into a leading centre of excellence in the practical application of virtual reality technologies. In addition to industrial and medical VR projects, the National Centre has recently undertaken a project to re-create in 3D some of the paintings of L.S. Lowry, the celebrated English artist. Prof. Stone will outline the current status of VR technology relevant to heritage reconstruction and presentation, and will show the results of the Lowry project. Prof. Benjamin Britton Lascaux Benjamin Britton is Assistant Professor of Electronic Art in the School of Fine Arts at the University of Cincinnati, and is engaged in creative research with Virtual Reality and other optical media. Lascaux is an interactive 3D reconstruction of the celebrated cave in France, to which access is now restricted for conservation reasons. It aims to provide the viewer not only with a visual tour of the cave and its magnificent prehistoric paintings, but also with some sense of its underlying significance in the history of humanity. Prof. Britton's Lascaux project has won wide acclaim as an imaginative and stimulating example of interpretive archaeological re-creation. Prof. Thomas W. Maver A Tale of Three Cities Tom Maver is Professor of Computer Aided Design at the University of Strathclyde, in Glasgow. He is also Director of ABACUS, the computer research unit at the University's Department of Architecture and Building Science, and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland. The ABACUS Group has been active for some years in the use of computer graphics and multimedia to represent past, present and future buildings in both urban and rural settings. The three cities discussed during the presentation are Split, in former Yugoslavia - a graphical account of the development of Split from its origin in the Diocletian Palace of the Venetian Empire up to the present day; Edinburgh - a multimedia interface to a large-scale three dimensional computer model of Edinburgh Old Town; and Glasgow - Virtual City developments in the run up to the City of Architecture and Design celebrations in 1999. The presentation concludes with a report on the IMAGEA project - an international initiative to construct an Interactive Multimedia Archive of Great European Architecture. Dr George Forester; Rejean Baribeau 3-D Colour imaging of museum objects The National Research Council of Canada (NRC), in collaboration with the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI), has developed a laser imaging system for the rapid, three-dimensional digital recording of museum objects. The system, believed to be the most advanced of its kind in the world, enables highly accurate images of museum objects to be examined in full colour and minute detail. Viewers can zoom in and study intricate details such as tool marks on an archaeological find, or the impasto effect of brush strokes on an important painting. The scanned images can be made available worldwide via CD-ROM or communications links, and will be invaluable in providing culturally and historically accurate furnishings and details for virtual heritage reconstructions. The presentation will be given by Dr George Forester,Industrial Liaison Office, NRC, and Rejean Baribeau, a conservation scientist at CCI, and a guest worker at NRC. Bryan Mills Hadrian's Wall, and Virtual Reality Valley Bryan Mills is a member of the consultancy team developing the Northumbrian Virtual Reality Project. He has been a leading figure in the information technology field since the late 'fifties, originally with Burroughs, and then as founder and for many years Chairman of CMG (Computer Management Group), one of the largest multi-national computer software and services groups in Europe. He was also founder President of the Computing Services Association, Vice-Chairman of the Irish Computing Association, and Vice-Chairman of the Industrial Participation Association. He will describe the background, objectives and current status of the Northumbrian project, one of the most ambitious of its kind in the world, which will include a virtual reality reconstruction of Hadrian's Wall. Dr Carl Eugene Loeffler Virtual Pompeii Dr Carl Loeffler is Research Director of SIMLAB, an advanced Virtual Reality laboratory in the College of Fine Arts, at Carnegie Mellon University. He is also Visiting Senior Scientist at the University of Oslo, and Norwegian Telecom Research, and was responsible for establishing the first Virtual Reality research laboratory in Norway, Dr Loeffler enjoys an outstanding international reputation for the creative application of VR to both artistic and professional projects. Virtual Pompeii is an educational virtual reality application that replicates the Theatre Complex, part of the ancient city of Pompeii as it existed prior to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79. The re-enactment of a typical theatrical performance at the Large Theatre, with virtual actors, is a special feature of the simulation. The project is a collaboration between the Archaeological Institute of America, Silicon Graphics, Inc, and the Carnegie Mellon SIMLAB. Registration Options: (note that the Value Added Tax (VAT) additions can be ignored in the case of registrations from countries where VAT does not apply) Standard Registration: UKP295.00 plus VAT (=346.63), applicable after 31st October. Early Registration: UKP250.00 plus VAT (=293.75), applicable before 1st November Academic/Charitable Registration: UKP220.00 plus VAT (=258.50), applicable up to 15th November Demand for places is expected to be high. Please register in good time. Delegates should send full address and contact details with their payments to: VR NEWS PO Box 2515 London N4 4JW, UK Tel: +44 181-292-1498 Fax: +44 181-292-1346 Cheques should be made payable to VR NEWS. Credit card payments are accepted (VISA, ACCESS and MASTERCARD only). An invoice (in UKP or US$) will be issued on request, but bookings are only confirmed on receipt of payment. Bath offers a range of excellent hotel accommodation, typically from UKP35.00 to 75.00 per person per night, including breakfast. Please indicate whether you would like a room booking to be made for you, for which night/s, whether single or double, and at what approximate price.