Simplified Crowd Simulation in Virtual Heritage Sites

Abstract

For the past two decades, historians and archaeologists have reconstructed heritage sites using computer-generated graphics in three dimensions, a technique known as “virtual archaeology.” Early research focused merely on displaying models of the architecture or of archaeological artifacts, but with the emergence of virtual worlds, researchers and the public can “immerse” themselves in the reconstructed environment and experience the equivalent of a guided tour. User-generated content has allowed historians to now go a step further and modify the models, by formulating hypotheses and testing them interactively, creating a “virtual laboratory of archaeology.” In this chapter, a solution is offered whereby historians are able to manipulate the parameters of a crowd simulation without the need of learning conventional computer programming. This conceptual framework is loosely based on strategy computer games, which also allow players to simulate relatively complex crowds by visually placing markers on the ground. It extends the concept of the virtual laboratory of archaeology beyond the architectural representation of heritage sites by placing the tools of crowd simulation in the hands of historians.

Los niveles de detalle en la reconstrucción virtual de núcleos urbanos históricos: estudio del caso de Vitoria-Gasteiz en el siglo XII

“…La posibilidad de generar vídeos a partir de animaciones de cámara es una de las nuevas posibilidades que ofreció la RVP frente a otras disciplinas clásicas (Addison, 2000). Una vez generados los modelos 3D, el hecho de convertirlos en vídeos en lugar de imágenes fijas no es excesivamente costoso, pero puede añadir complejidad técnica si se incluyen personajes animados o elementos urbanos en movimiento (Sequeira, 2020).…”