4D Research Lab

The 4D Research Lab is looking for student assistants for the Virtual Past Places project! Are you interested in technology in the classroom? Are you passionate about virtual worlds? Do you have good communication skills? Please contact Jitte Waagen at [email protected]. For more information see https://www.surf.nl/virtual-past-places-vipp, https://4dresearchlab.nl/virtual-past-places-a-collaborative-vr-for-storytelling-and-education/'

Virtual Past Places, a collaborative VR for storytelling and education > 4D Research Lab With this blog post, we would like to introduce our online virtual reality platform Virtual Past Places. From early 2021 the 4DRL has started experimenting with the browser-based collaborative VR technology of Mozilla Hubs. This came as a natural follow-up from the experiments with various Blended L...

In order to transparently publish 3D models and reconstructions of historical and archaeological sites, we should closer integrate 3D modelling, paradata production and publication workflows. Tijm Lanjouw wrote a blog post about it on the PURE 3D website.

4D Research Lab Blog Post Some thoughts about integrating documentation, modelling and publication for historical 3D models by Tijm Lanjouw, 4D

CfP Local Chapter Meeting 2021 | CAA Netherlands Flanders Chapter CAA Nederland/Vlaanderen organiseert de jaarlijkse Local Chapter Meeting in Leiden op 9-10 december 2021, met de Faculteit der Archeologie als lokale organisator en host. We streven naar een in-person bijeenkomst, maar vanwege de COVID-19 situatie wordt rekening gehouden met eventuele online of hybr...

We are very happy that we can share the release of the 1st 4DRL Report Series paper with you! An open access series that will increase transparency and availability of information on 4DRL virtual visualisation projects, workflow and pipeline development and technical experiments.

https://uvaauas.figshare.com/collections/4DRL_Report_Series/5503110

The first paper is an explanation of our take on modeling concepts like level of detail and uncertainty, but reports on specific modeling projects (Rietveld Pressroom is in the waiting room) and technical backgrounds (Augmented Reality experiments in Blended Learning projects) will follow soon.

(image is a visualisation of certainty in the reconstruction of 18th century houses of the Bloemstraat in Amsterdam, modelled for the Freedom of the Streets project https://www.freedomofthestreets.org/blog/3d-street-life)

In 2018 at the re-launch of the 4D Research Lab we awarded MA student Santje Pander with the 4DRL launch award for a project about Gerrit Rietveld's 1958 UNESCO pressroom. Her original research question regarded the simulation of colour using a 3D model to test alternative possibilities for reconstructing the original linoleum colours. Since then we continued developing this project together with the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, which culminated in the creation of a virtual tour of the room. This tour shows you the reconstructed room and contains stories about the design, use and dismantlement of this amazing piece of modern art history.

Rijksdienst conservator Dorian Meijnen recently wrote a blog on the history of the pressroom and the creation of the virtual model:
https://www.cultureelerfgoed.nl/actueel/weblogs/collecties-en-musea/2021/bijzonder-rietveld-interieur-in-3d-model

You can visit the pressroom yourself on our website: http://4dresearchlab.nl/research/pressroom/
Warning! Unfortunately it is not yet optimised for mobile viewing!

Some brief project information is also available on our website:
http://4dresearchlab.nl/research/pressroom/

Gerrit Rietveld's UNESCO Pressroom, 1958 > 4D Research Lab Gerrit Rietveld’s UNESCO Pressroom, 1958 Years: 2019 Supervision: Tijm Lanjouw Modelling and research: Tijm Lanjouw / Santje Pander Project description: Project in collaboration with Post-MA trainee (Conservation and Resaturation) Santje Pander. The lost press room of the UNESCO headquarters in Pa...

English text below

Het 4D Research Lab werkt in 2021 aan verschillende projecten op het terrein van 3D modelleren, drone remote sensing, spectral analysis, AR en VR op het gebied van archeologie en erfgoed. Zin om mee te helpen en aldoende kennis en ervaring op te doen in deze technieken? Contact: [email protected] / http://4dresearchlab.nl/

In 2021, the 4D Research Lab is working on various projects in the field of 3D modelling, drone remote sensing, spectral analysis, AR and VR for archaeology and heritage. Would you like to help and gain knowledge and experience in these techniques? Contact: [email protected] / http://4dresearchlab.nl/

I note that we havent been updating our page very frequently. If you want to learn more about what we're up to, I'd advise you to check out our twitter account. Twitter posts are written so much faster 😅

4D Research Lab (@4DRL1) | Twitter The latest Tweets from 4D Research Lab (). Serving time travelling scholars at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam. (posts by Tijm Lanjouw). Amsterdam, Nederland

Two weeks ago we collaborated in an experiment in which we presented our 3D reconstruction of Vlooienburg in using hubs, mozilla's VR presentation platform. Together with people from the Centre for Innovation, TU Delft and SURF we created two 3D worlds: one museum setting in which we discussed the process of research and modelling, and another in which we did a VR city tour.

An excerpt from the blog post by the organising body XR ERA:

"“Interesting“, “cool“, “it was really fun“, “great experience” and “I’d never been in Amsterdam before” were some of the spontaneous comments from the attendants. It was clear from people’s reactions that the overall impression of the session was positive. A commentator mentioned that experiences like this could represent an excellent means for teaching and creating new job possibilities, such as virtual tour guides. Others further noted that immersive technologies add elements of humanness to a learning experience. Nonetheless, the session was not free from problems. Difficulty to identify which person was speaking and audio issues were experienced by some participants. "

Check out a summary of this meeting here: https://xrera.eu/a-3d-exploration-of-the-material-past-recap-of-meetup-4/

And read this interview with us and the other creators here: https://xrera.eu/an-interview-with-the-creators-of-the-virtual-environment-to-visit-the-life-size-digital-reconstruction-of-the-amsterdam-neighbourhood-vlooienburg/

Of course, this isnt the first experiment with teaching archaeology/history in a VR setting, but for us it was. And personally I found it quite exciting, and others seemed to agree. What do you think? Is this the future? Or does it remain, where it has been for over two decades: a nice gimmick that does have some advantages, but ultimately perceived as something that isnt worth the effort? Does anyone have experience using VR as a presentation/teaching tool as well?

New blogpost on Augmented Reality and visualizing the process of a facial reconstruction of a Russian soldier who died in the battle of Castricum in 1799. Is 3D object recognition there yet to be used in a museum context?

Visualizing the process of facial reconstruction in AR > 4D Research Lab We have written about our Augmented Reality projects before, here, here, and here. But we never talked about one of our original case-studies that motivated us to start working with AR in 2018: visualizing the process of reconstructing a human face from fragments of an excavated skull of a Russian s...

After nearly a year of hard work, we present to you: the historical reconstruction of the Waterlooplein neighbourhood! On display in the Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam. Their new exhibition opens on thursday!

The project covers the historical change of the islands Vlooienburg and Marken or Valkenburg (later: Valkenburgerstraat) from their inception in 1600 to just after the creation of the Waterlooplein around 1890.

With the installation in the museum you can navigate these historical 3D spaces on touchscreens, while other visitors are watching your actions. The VR also includes a reconstruction of a dinner table in a Jewish interior of around 1650 with objects found in cesspits during the Waterlooplein excavations of the 1980s!

So much thanks to everyone who has contributed their time and energy to this project! A full list of credits can be found below the following walkthrough video:

Vlooienburg/Valkenburgerstraat historical VR, walkthrough Research, reconstructions and video by 4D Research Lab, University of Amsterdam, made for the Waterlooplein exhibition at the Jewish Historical Museum Amster...

4DRL coordinator and drone/GIS specialist Jitte Waagen talking about new research on Troy using drones.

Drone Over Troy: The Contribution of Low Altitude Remote Sensing in Archaeology by Jitte Waagen The Amsterdam Troy Project is dedicated to researching the archaeology of archaeology. But what exactly is this field of study, and how do we go about lookin...