Recreating a medieval urban scene with virtual intelligent characters: steps to create the complete scenario

Ana Paula Cláudio

Portugal

Universidade de Lisboa

BioISI - Biosystems & Integrative Sciences Institute, Faculdade de Ciências

Maria Beatriz Carmo

Portugal

Universidade de Lisboa

BioISI - Biosystems & Integrative Sciences Institute, Faculdade de Ciências

Alexandre Antonio de Carvalho

Portugal

Universidade de Lisboa

BioISI - Biosystems & Integrative Sciences Institute, Faculdade de Ciências

Willian Xavier

Portugal

Universidade de Lisboa

BioISI - Biosystems & Integrative Sciences Institute, Faculdade de Ciências

Rui Filipe Antunes

Portugal

Universidade de Lisboa ; MIRALab, University of Geneva, Switzerland

BioISI - Biosystems & Integrative Sciences Institute, Faculdade de Ciências

MIRALab, University of Geneva

Submitted: 2016-09-06

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Accepted: 2017-04-13

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Published: 2017-07-26

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2017.6557
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Keywords:

virtual archaeology, digital archaeology, cyber-archaeology, cultural heritage, 3D reconstruction, 3D data interoperability

Supporting agencies:

EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 655226 (fellow¬ship to Dr. Rui Filipe Antunes) & BioISI R&D unit (UID/MULTI/04046/2013)

Portugal

Abstract:

From historical advice to 3D modeling and programming, the process of reconstructing cultural heritage sites populated with virtual inhabitants is lengthy and expensive, and it requires a large set of skills and tools. These constraints make it increasingly difficult, however not unattainable, for small archaeological sites to build their own simulations. In this article, we describe our attempt to minimize this scenario. We describe a framework that makes use of free tools or campus licenses and integrates the curricular work of students in academia. We present the details of methods and tools used in the pipeline of the construction of the virtual simulation of the medieval village of Mértola in the south of Portugal. We report on: a) the development of a lightweight model of the village, including houses and terrain, and b) its integration in a game engine in order to c) include a virtual population of autonomous inhabitants in a simulation running in real-time.
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