The KAMBE Project is involved in developing the use of Extended Reality (XR) methods in archaeological research. XR refers to real and virtual combined environments generated by computer technology. It includes Augmented Reality (AR), which allows interactive experience with a real-world environment that is enhanced with computer-generated (i.e. virtual) perceptual information. Virtual reality (VR), on the other hand, allows interactive experience within a completely computer-generated (i.e. virtual) environment. Mixed Reality (MR) combines both technologies.
We are developing an AR app will provide a means for visitors to the site to use a GPS-enabled mobile device (e.g., tablet, mobile phone) to overlay virtual content on areas of the site viewed by the device’s camera, with the correct position and perspective. This content would include such things as reconstructions of visible ruins, locations of buried urban features detected by geophysical survey, and information on archaeological finds from particular locations. Ultimately, this app will integrate other forms of archaeological data useful for researchers that will be available via the web, including stratigraphic layers and detailed qualitative and quantitative information on finds, including 3D models of significant artifacts or features.