Are We Getting Closer to Virtual Time Travel

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Are We Getting Closer to Virtual Time Travel?
Department of Computing Science University of
Alberta

• Dr. Pierre Boulanger
• Department of Computing Science
• University of Alberta

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Ben-Hur 1925
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Cleopatra 1965
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Gladiator 2000
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What Was Accomplished?

• Many of our popular images and insights of
  history come from Hollywood movies
• They usually are not historically accurate
• In the early movies sets were done with cardboard
  and paint
• New graphic technology and better historical
  knowledge has allowed movie makers to be more
  accurate and give to the viewer a real sense of
  being there.
• But is this really time travel? NO

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What Are the Problems?

• In the Real World, Time Travel is Impossible
  Because of Causality
• The only way to time travel is through our
  imagination
• Stories and Plays
• Books
• Films
• And Now Virtual Reality

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What Are the Problems?

• Our current civilization has accumulated a large
  body of historical knowledge from our
  predecessors.
• Most of this knowledge is gained through materiel
  culture such as artifacts, books and paintings,
  as well as through stories and legends.
• They are usually distributed all across the world
  in remote inaccessible places or cultural
  institutions.
• Most of these historical artifacts are fragile
  and should not be transported and/or manipulated.
  

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Why Do We Need This?

• Contrary to rumor, history is not dead!
• From historical fact, we are able to recreate not
  only how kings and queens lived, but also how the
  average citizen, peasant, and slave lived under
  them.
• Those who do not know history are bound to repeat
  it!
• This is true only if we have a clear and accurate
  knowledge of history.
• Accurate knowledge of history is important not
  only for a few academics but also for the
  citizen.
• True democracy requires informed citizens.

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What Do We Need?

• To have a real sense of time travel we need to
  be able
• To navigate and explore the past at will
• To question the meaning of things and ideas
• To interact with and influence historical
  characters
• To create a plausible visual reconstruction of
  buildings, peoples, and artifacts
• To create a sense of intimacy with the virtual
  world.
• Do we have any of these capabilities?
• No, not really, but we are getting there!

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Definition of Virtual Reality

• A virtual reality system is an interface between
  a human and a machine capable of creating a
  real-time sensory experience of real and
  artificial worlds through the various human
  sensory channels. These sensory channels for
  humans are Vision Audition, Touch, Smell, and
  Taste.
• Burdea, 1993

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Generic VR System
3D Graphic Rendering
VR Models
Display System
Haptic Rendering
High Speed Network
3D Sound Rendering
Input Sensors
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Various Display Systems
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The Three Is of Virtual Reality
Immersion
Imagination
Interaction
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The Time Machine
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The Virtual Time Machine
Sound Archive
Distributed Virtual Data Server
3D Models Archive
High Speed Network or Satellite Link
Interactive Virtual Display Stations
Text Archive
Haptic Archive
Virtual Models
Images Archive
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Digitizing the Real World

• Object Digitizing
• Indoor Environment Digitizing
• Outdoor Environment Digitizing
• Material Properties

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Reality-Virtuality Continuum
Real Environment
Virtual Environment
Reality-Virtuality (RV) Continuum
Extent of World Knowledge Continuum
World Completely Modeled
World Unmodeled
World Partially Modeled
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Commercial Version of the Auto-Synchronized
Range Sensor

• Based on NRC auto-synchronized geometry and
  commercialized by Hymarc Ltd.
• System mounted on a CMM
• Precision of 25 micro-meters
• Designed for high-precision work

www.hymarc.com
Color Scan
Hyscan 45c
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NRCC Color Range Sensor
Illumination with polychromatic laser Multiple
peak detection
(x,y,z r,v,b)
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Color Range Sensor Data
Multi-view Sensing
Computer Generated Views of the Mark
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A Virtual 3D Model
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Large Field of View Camera Archaeology
Sculpture

• LFV Camera
• digitizing large structures
• monochrome system
• range 50 cm to 10 m
• resolution 70 ?m at 50 cm

Digitizing St. James Tomb in Israel and the
sculpture Mythic Messengers at the Canadian
Museum of Civilization
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Digital Model of St. James Tomb
The irregular surface details recorded by the
camera add realism to the VR display
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Digitizing a Mayan Hieroglyphic Stairway at the
Peabody Museum
Scanning using the linear translation stage
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3D Digital Model of the Hieroglyphic Stairway

• Complete Model Detail of Lower Left Step

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Digital Michelangelo Project
The NRC scanner has been used for high resolution
imaging of surface details on works by
Michelangelo including David
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Data Acquisition Platform
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3-D Model Reconstruction
Geometry
Textured model
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Digitizing Outdoor Environments Using
Photogrammetry
Calibration Parameters
Compute 3-D Points
Solve Correspondences
Create 3-D Textured Model
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3-D Model of Building
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Modeling Measurement From Images
ShapeCapture
Creates accurate models interactively from
digital images

• Full calibration
• Accurate measurement
• Photogrammetry
• Surface fitting
• Meshing of unorganized points
• Texture mapping

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Digitizing Material Properties
Work by Dinesh Pai at UBC
Reality Based Sound Rendering
Sound Characteristics Acquisition
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Virtual Reconstruction of Historical Monuments
(University of Calgary)
Dr Richard Levy is leading the development of
3D computer visualizations in urban planning. 
Simulating the reconstruction of urban sites
through high performance computer visualizations,
Dr Levy has been able to successfully reconstruct
the twelfth century temple site of Phimai,
Thailand.
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UofA/NRC Virtual Museum
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NRC/CMC Virtual Museum
http//cfml.iit.nrc.ca/infusion/VMC/inuit_e.html
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Image Based Modeling

• Image Based Modeling is usually characterized as
  the poor mans VR.
• In fact, it might turn out that it is the best
  way to provide immersion of complex environments.
• These algorithms combine the information
  contained in the various images into a
  representation called light fields at Stanford
  and lumigraph at Microsoft.
• The most well-known image -based rendering
  method is Apples QuickTime VR.

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QuickTime VR
www.louvre.fr
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QuickTime VR
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Copan Museum (Honduras)
http//www.maya-archaeology.org/VRHTML/copangate2.
html
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CMC 3-D Virtual Reality Theatre

• Features
• Seating for 20-25 visitors
• 3 m x 4.6 m (10x15) screen
• Electrohome projector
• SGI Onyx 2 Reality computer
• Passive polarizing glasses
• VR Tour Guide hosts

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Virtual Museum or Digital Repatriation
A replica of Tutankhamuns mask was scanned and
the 3-D model inserted into the tomb model.
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VR Tour Tomb of Tutankhamum
The VR tour shows visitors the Tomb as they would
experience it today.
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Virtual Avatars or Guide
Left Image
Stereo Texture
Right Image
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Virtual Avatars from 3-D Sensors
Text
AA
Avatar Synthesis 3-D Sound 3-D Geometry
Using Morphing
Expression Database
Synthesis
Neutral
Smile
3-D Alignment of the Basic Models
Kiss
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What Can We Do Today?

• We can digitize artifacts and medium sized sites
  in 3D or by using image-based rendering
  techniques.
• We can use advanced 3D modeling software to
  create buildings of the past from ruins or old
  schematics.
• We can create 3D immersive displays to present
  this information.
• We have multi-media and GIS tools for integrating
  all this information into a coherent body of
  knowledge.
• We also have ways to merge 2D movies into 3D
  worlds to create realistic characters.
• We can create good virtual walks-through and
  historical websites.
• But is this good enough? NO!

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What We Need to Do ?

• To develop advanced computer systems capable of
  generating high quality immersion.
• We need more advanced editing tools to create
  content, especially characters.
• We need more than visual rendering, i.e.,
  Haptics, Auditory, Smell.
• We need to digitize most of the world artifacts
  and make them available for site development.

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Who Should Do This?

• Historians, Computer Scientists,
  Socio-anthropologists, and Visual Artists need to
  get together to create these universes.
• The production of a virtual time traveling
  machine for one era may cost more than the
  production of a big box movie.
• If so, how should it be marketed?
• Are we far from our goal? Yes, but we are
  starting to go in the right direction.

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My Prediction

• 2020 for the first credible virtual time travel
  experience