Archaeologists from the College of Arts on the College of Hong Kong (HKU) are revolutionising the excavation and documentation of historic websites with cutting-edge 3D immersive applied sciences.
Archaeology research the human previous by the excavation of issues folks made and used 1000’s of years in the past — from structure to things like pottery bowls and animal bones from meals. Though many excavation tasks create digital 3D fashions of what they uncover, archaeologists want new methods to meaningfully use these knowledge. Some tasks share 3D fashions with the general public as tourism and educating instruments — one might have not too long ago seen 3D shows at museums. Nevertheless, archaeologists themselves haven’t but taken full benefit of those fashions in their very own fieldwork and analysis. That’s about to vary!
By carrying Blended and Augmented Actuality (MR/AR) headsets whereas actively digging, the HKU workforce is pioneering the interactive utility of digital 3D scientific knowledge at archaeological websites. MR headsets allow customers to effortlessly view and work together with each the actual world and 3D fashions built-in inside it, utilizing gadgets such because the Microsoft HoloLens 2 and the Meta Quest Professional. However, AR sensible glasses show info on a small display inside the lenses and are geared up with cameras and microphones for hands-free knowledge assortment.
These applied sciences play an important function within the area of archaeology, usually considered a ‘harmful science’, the place knowledge assortment includes the excavation and removing of artifacts, stopping anybody else from digging the identical place once more.
The HKU workforce innovatively utilized the applied sciences of their fieldwork undertaking within the South Caucasus nation of Armenia, the place the workforce usually removes historic stone partitions and pottery vessels to uncover earlier stays beneath. Professor Peter J. Cobb, an archaeologist on the HKU College of Arts, emphasised the advantages of the brand new know-how, stating: “By carrying an MR machine whereas I dig, I can nearly see a eliminated wall at its authentic location. This helps me resolve the place to dig subsequent, and I can examine, in situ, a number of sections of historic structure that had been eliminated at completely different occasions.”
Moreover, the workforce makes use of AR sensible glasses for primary knowledge recording comparable to capturing images and utilizing voice recognition for notetaking. Professor Cobb identified that “Archaeologists should have their palms free whereas recording knowledge, since we have to maintain our trowels and brushes whereas digging.”
HKU College of Arts PhD candidate Mr Hayk Azizbekyan, who leads this analysis and is from Armenia himself, defined: “MR and AR headsets have by no means been used earlier than at an precise archaeological excavation undertaking to help the digging work of a workforce, that is our game-changing innovation! I am excited to experiment with future methods of finding out previous issues and preserving cultural heritage. We name this undertaking our ‘imaginative and prescient for the long run’, because the know-how permits new methods of ‘viewing’ the previous’.”
The workforce additionally employs an MR headset to match 3D scanned historic pottery sherds with bodily ones, aiding within the evaluation of inaccessible artifacts displayed in museums. They anticipate that sooner or later, AI will facilitate the matching of those sherds based mostly on their shapes.
These groundbreaking achievements had been not too long ago printed within the Journal of Pc Purposes in Archaeology (JCAA), ranked eighth out of over 350 archaeology journals on the earth, by Scopus.
Professor Cobb famous: “It was fascinating, the journal confronted a problem discovering peer reviewers since our strategy was so novel.” He additionally led a dialogue on these improvements on the Institute for the Examine of the Historical World (ISAW) of New York College (NYU) on November 13, 2024.
This interdisciplinary analysis collaboration bridges the hole between humanities and engineering, pushed by the workforce’s ardour for advancing the sector of archaeology by a singular Arts-Tech partnership with HKU engineers. The Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing of the HKU College of Engineering supplied gear and know-how. Recognizing the restrictions of current MR/AR headsets, the interdisciplinary workforce is now growing customized sensible glasses for future fieldwork seasons.