Touching the Untouchable: Increasing Access to Archaeological Artefacts by Virtual Handling
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Department Name: Archaeology
Abstract
Computer interfaces that provide information to the sense of touch offer exciting possibilities for interactive museum displays in which the visitor can handle virtual replicas of museum objects. Experiencing objects in this way provides an opportunity to participate in the sensory worlds of the past and offers new forms of accessibility for a wide range of museum visitors. The focus of the proposed research cluster is this virtual handling of museum objects, with archaeological textiles selected as a case study. New touch technologies offer the chance to handle virtual replicas of these rare and fragile objects. In addition, such a computer system is far more portable than a large collection of real objects and so offers significant outreach potential for public groups unable to visit the museum.
On seeing a textile it is natural to wish to handle it - the characteristic mechanical and surface properties of textiles are best understood by manipulation. Hence archaeological textiles are a particularly good choice of artefact for virtual handling. Conveniently, current interface technology is particularly suited to represent light, flexible objects such as textiles.
The overall aim of the cluster is to develop an improved understanding of the potential for virtual handling of archaeological textiles, leading to one or more major research proposals to develop and implement these techniques. The cluster is planned to involve 24 participants (plus new researchers and research students) from at least 12 institutions, including a 'core team' of six who are responsible for overall strategy. The cluster will bring together specialists in the areas of textile archaeology, museum display, computer interfaces, etc., to establish what is currently achievable, what is realistically achievable through future collaboration, and what technologies and techniques need further development.
On seeing a textile it is natural to wish to handle it - the characteristic mechanical and surface properties of textiles are best understood by manipulation. Hence archaeological textiles are a particularly good choice of artefact for virtual handling. Conveniently, current interface technology is particularly suited to represent light, flexible objects such as textiles.
The overall aim of the cluster is to develop an improved understanding of the potential for virtual handling of archaeological textiles, leading to one or more major research proposals to develop and implement these techniques. The cluster is planned to involve 24 participants (plus new researchers and research students) from at least 12 institutions, including a 'core team' of six who are responsible for overall strategy. The cluster will bring together specialists in the areas of textile archaeology, museum display, computer interfaces, etc., to establish what is currently achievable, what is realistically achievable through future collaboration, and what technologies and techniques need further development.
Publications
| Title | Please Touch temporary installations. |
| Description | installations and variations of crafted replicas and 3D prints of the same ancient artefacts |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2013 |
| Impact | The installations have formed part of a pop up exhibition entitled 'Touching the Past' which has been seen in Museums in Netherlands, Finland, Spain and the UK and taken to British and European conferences. The installations have aided the dissemination of the research to an academic and professional museum audience as well as to the public. |
| URL | http://touchingthepast.exeter.ac.uk. |
| Title | Sample replica textiles were produced. |
| Description | replica textile samples |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2013 |
| Impact | The replica has formed part of a pop up exhibition entitled 'Touching the Past' which has been seen in Museums in Netherlands, Finland, Spain and the UK and taken to British and European conferences. The installations have aided the dissemination of the research to an academic and professional museum audience as well as to the public. |
| URL | http://touchingthepast.exeter.ac.uk. |
| Description | The research cluster brought together academics from different disciplines and a range of museum professionals. Over a variety of different visitor groups and venues the following ideas were generated. Video clips Replicas Real objects Augmented reality Multi-media 3D virtual images 3D 'prints' By the end of the grant the next phase of research had been identified as the development of some of these ideas for public trials. |
| Exploitation Route | The subsequent project Touching the past was able to take these ideas further for a museum and academic audience. In particular the interactive potential of haptic devices and of 3D prints required further research in terms of visitor reactions to new media as well as traditional crafted replicas. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy Education Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| URL | http://touchingthepast.exeter.ac.uk. |
| Description | The research cluster grant led directly into further grant applications the most significant being Touching the past: investigating sensory engagement and authenticity in the provision of touch experiences in museums across a range of media (AH/K00638X/1, reported separately) which has taken the ideas into the public arena and engaged other researchers and professionals. The subsequent grant benefitted greatly from the input of the end-users who worked with the research network and the strength of this approach has caused positive comments. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2009 |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural |
| Description | Exeter University REACT HEIF |
| Amount | £6,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Exeter |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2011 |
| End | 06/2012 |
| Description | Science and heritage development grant |
| Amount | £80,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/K00638X/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2013 |
| End | 12/2013 |
| Description | Hunebedcentrum, Borger, Netherlands as part of the Openarch EU project |
| Organisation | Hunebedentrum |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I visited the Hunebedcentrum as part of a staff exchange within the Openarch EU funded project. I discussed the Touching the Past project and showed some examples. The 3rd Exeter Dialogue with Science Workshop for this project contained elements of the Touching the past project as part of discussions on multisensory experiences in museums. This meeting was reported back to all partners within the EU project. I suggested using their scans to print the reconstructed houses so that visually impaired visitors could orientate themselves within the site and within houses and better understand the above head height elements. |
| Collaborator Contribution | As a direct result of visits and discussions with me about the Touching the Past Project, the Hunebedcentrum have applied for funding and purchased a 3D printer with the long term view of printing objects from the museum for use in a variety of ways. They are currently developing a game using small prints of their reconstructed houses. |
| Impact | Hunebedcentrum are developing a game using 3D prints. We also discussed printing models of the reconstructed houses to aid visually impaired visitors to the museum. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Colonial Williamsburg, USA, public engagment |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Colonial Williamsburg, USA is the largest Open Air Museum in the US and Prof Linda hurcombe, Dr Theresa Kamper and Mr Matt Sweiton were all involved in presenting crafts and replicas and 3D prints to the general public and to visitors who included historical re-enactors, historical interpreters, visiting undergraduate and postgraduate students and visiting university lecturers. Thousands of people were able to see these installations and demonstrations. The public activity was for one day and was linked to the REARC conference hosted at Colonial Williamsburg. The whole is reviewed at the website. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://journal.exarc.net/issue-2017-1/mm/conference-review-reconstructive-and-experimental-archaeolo... |