On 10th and 11th February 2016 Nick attended Digital Past 2016, an annual conference organised by the Royal Commission on the Ancient Monuments of Wales focussing on the use of digital tools and techniques in the context of heritage assets.
Projects linked closely to the vaults research were particularly informative, for example Dr Maurice Murphy’s use of laser scan data in conjunction with Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) to serve as conservation and analysis documents. In the context of the vaults project, we are keen to investigate the use of HBIM to assist in our continuing analysis of the geometry of medieval vaults, which is very complex in terms of the amount of geometric data gathered. An Irish government funded project 3D-Icons was very revealing in terms of the processes required to create accessible digital models of significant monuments and buildings. For example, converting laser scan data to mesh models with rendered textures, and finally making these easily viewable to the public.
The conference presented a number of other intriguing projects, for example Professor Bob Stone’s use of drones and immersive virtual reality to inspire communities to engage with local histories, as well as the use of Gigapixel photography to document Welsh chapels and make available the interactive views online. The Cynefin project to digitise Tithe maps showed how Gigapixel photography can be used to copy large and delicate maps without damaging the original, and their consequent overlay with modern digital maps to provide a free resource for the public and researchers to use.
The conference was a great success and we look forward to returning next year, where we hope to present an update of the vaults project.
