Trevor Rowe (2016)

Keywords:  Archaeology, AR, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Interpretation

Abstract:

Despite the substantial growth in the field of computer simulations, the idea of augmented reality or, a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data, is nothing new; however using augmented reality as an archaeological tool is.

By understanding the effects augmented reality could have on the archaeological process, archaeologists can have a better understanding on where the technology can best be applied to the field. There have been a few recent advancements with AR as an archaeological tool but unfortunately that is where the information ends, the impact of these advancements has not been assessed.

Taking a series of case studies devised around standard archaeological interpretation practice and analysing their outcomes against a strict set of criteria we can assess the affect of augmented reality on archaeological interpretation.