Not all data are born digital: Workflows to facilitate data integration & rapid 3D visualization
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2019-09-07

Born digital data are increasing in archaeology. RTK GPS and 3D surveying techniques such as laser scanning and photogrammetry allow “instantaneous” acquisition of high-resolution data of extant archaeological features. Digital tools such as GIS, 3DStudioMax, and Unity3D enable archaeologists to employ modeling and visualization as archaeological investigation. However, such archaeological investigation requires that we be able to efficiently integrate born digital field data with “digitized” legacy data such as architectural drawings, site maps, field notes, excavation profiles, or photographs. The problem is that digitized legacy data often come in a hodge-podge of file formats, generated without standards or according to best practices because they were created at different points in time using different software and to achieve diverse objectives. These various, and often incompatible formats, make data integration and interchange difficult, particularly for re-use purposes such as analysis and visualization. The MayaCityBuilder Project is creating a procedural modeling kit and digital lexicon of 2D and 3D data for ancient Maya architecture and workflows that will allow users to "rapidly" create 3D buildings in georeferenced landscapes in a web-based environment. In this paper, we present workflows and code we have developed to export/import 3D models derived from different formats and various sources into Unity3D and WebGL.

Full title: Not all data are born digital: Workflows to facilitate data integration and rapid 3D visualization of landscapes

(Heather Richards-Rissetto, Zachary Day, Shane Bolan, Isaac Beddes)