Public Engagement Funding Interim Report. VR Dome Exhibit 14 March 2014 John Tredinnick

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1 Public Engagement Funding Interim Report VR Dome Exhibit 14 March 2014 John Tredinnick Summary This report describes the work undertaken to date in the production of a VR Dome based virtual reconstruction of Chedworth Roman Valla and its recent field test at the Bradford-on-Avon science festival. The aim of this report is to document the techniques, resources and processes involved in delivering the test visitor experience and in doing so identify areas of improvement and/ or change for future versions. The result of which is a number of improvements to the exhibit that will be developed over the next 3 weeks, ready for the school Easter break. Work to date This can be divided into two elements of hardware and animation. The latter involving the virtual reconstruction that will be delivered and the former relating to elements of the physical dome setup on which the experience will be delivered. Hardware Improvements Since beginning this project the dome setup, which included the inflatable dome, mirror and projector has been fine tuned to ensure that the projected images are correct. This has involved a change to the mirror location which is now positioned centrally in the dome to project a 270deg image rather than 360 when positioned at the edge. The benefits of this are: Improved image warping Less shadowing of projection form viewers More space for viewers Reduced risk of damage to equipment. Although the overall projection is reduced the image still fully fills the viewer s field of view. Additions A 6mm diameter octagonal marquee has been purchased to house the dome when used at Chedworth. This has been complimented with ground sheets and high density foam floor mats to provide a suitable surface for viewers. A rig to house the projector, mirror and PC has been designed and is under construction. Equipment List Item Use QTY 5x3m Ground sheets Protect dome from ground 2 Sheet pegs Pin sheets down 8 6x6 Octagonal Marquee Protect dome from weather 1 5m Inflatable dome Projection screen 1 Blower Inflate dome 1 Power lead Power to dome equipment 1

2 Foam floor mats Dome floor 48 Convex mirror Reflect image to dome 1 HD projector Create image 1 Projector stand Support projector speakers Provide sound 1 Laptop Render projection 1 Setup Diagram

3 Animation The virtual reconstruction has been developed with input from the regional curator, Rupert Goulding, in the form of a suitable plot which is outlined below. Stage Theme Content 1 Blank Screen Start 2 Ancient Landscape Assuming no trees 3 Human Interest Sacred Spring site 4 Early Roman Early Villa constructed 5 Mid Roman Terraces carved out for Villa 6 Late Roman Villa at largest extent 7 Decline Villa in partial occupation & ruin 8 Loss Villa site overgrown, land slips 9 Woodland Villa invisible beneath ground, treed over 10 Discovery Man, Rabbits, Ferrets in woodland 11 Excavation Trees cleared, site excavated, walls discovered 12 Preservation Walls built up, capped, sheds built 13 Presentation Museum built 14 Display Shooting Lodge Built 15 Conservation West Range Shelter building 16 Investigation Laser Survey 17 Today Photo montage? 18 Blank Screen End This linear plot depicts a chronological view of the villa and its local environment from 0BC to current day. This has been described in a virtual construct involving a variety of visual and audial techniques to generate an engaging animated historical reconstruction. A demo version of the reconstruction has been developed for viewing at a public Science festival, after which any comments can be implemented and bugs worked out. The demo contains the majority of the visual environmental design, such as the terrain, Villa and point cloud. Although it lacks elements such as the animated figures, dynamically changing terrain / buildings and timeline, it is sufficient to provide an engaging test experience. Field Test Science festival The dome experience was exhibited as work in progress at the Bradford-on-Avon Science festival on Sunday 9 March The Science Festival is free to enter event organised and hosted by Wiltshire Music Centre which is aimed primarily at the children and families of the adjacent primary school but also offered to the public. This test was used as the first public trial of the exhibit during which unknowns, such as capacity and crowd control, could be understood. Exhibit time - 10am to 4pm. Setup time - 8:30am. Space - 15x15m lawn adjacent to main entrance. Facilities - Power. Weather - Dry and sunny, 18 with some wind in the afternoon. Visitor numbers - Unknown

4 VR Dome Experience Overview The exhibit took the form of a 5m inflatable dome in which a HD projector and convex mirror are used to display a 270 projection of an animated VR scene. The virtual reconstruction that was delivered to visitors at the science festival was a reduced version of the final version lasting 8:30. The animation was operated using the laptop keyboard to begin it. Hardware Setup Setting up of the exhibit began at 9:30am and was competed for 11:15am by three people. This was the first experience with setting up the dome outside using the marquee as cover. The setup went smoothly and the only problem encountered was an incorrect marquee pole, which was resolved without issue. The image below shows the finished setup. Viewer control As this was the first public use of the equipment no formal instructions had been developed for operating the exhibit. In general it was found that the exhibit requires two assistants one inside the dome and one outside. The assistant helps viewers find a place to sit on arrival and ensures that the equipment is still correctly setup before beginning the animation. The assistant outside controls the queue of viewers. The image below shows the dome during a viewing.

5 Statistics from the event. A total of twelve shows where screened each of which had a variation in audience size of between nine and twenty one. Over the course of the screening a total of 201 members of public participated which included 118 children (below the age of 18) and 83 adults. Screening Child Adult Total A survey card was given to the viewers on entrée to the dome, this mainly constituted the adult participants although some of the older children also took the survey. The card contained four questions and was formatted as per the image below. The questions where constructed to try and answer the following questions 1. How common are dome experiences for the public? 2. Was the dome and it s media an enjoyable experience? 3. Can a dome experience help drive future site visits? On exit from the dome the survey was returned which resulted in a total of 72 completed surveys, of which seven also had further comments. The survey results show that 11% have had a dome experience, this was as predicted, and reinforces the issue that although these events will draw attention but require suitable safeguards to prevent problems arising from public inexperience.

6 90% enjoyed this experience, this appears to be a relatively high proportion and is most likely explained by the circumstances of the exhibition, its free entry and the participants wanting to give good feedback. Five comments received made some suggestions to negative points of the experience. 1. Would have been better with some re-enactments. 2. Would have been better with some commentary. 3. Partly needed more explanation. Made me feel slightly queasy. 4. Felt extremely travel sick! My Daughter loved it. 5. But some Roman soldiers marching would make it epic! Comments 4 and 5 are of particular interest, the alteration of the virtual media and better audience awareness could help reduce the occurrence of motion sickness. Comments 1, 4 and 5 all relate to the same issue of information absence that where hypothesized, these should be reduced in future versions. A final comment My sons, aged 5, would like a DVD!!, had not been expected, but does bring up the issue of post visit engagement, and how such media could be accessed by viewers in a similar fashion to purchasing a property guidebook. As to whether such an experience can drive visits the 82% proportion appears to confirm this, however looking at this in more detail complicated the matter. Based on the relatively close proximity of the event to the Villa the proportion of 31% who visited appears normal. The proportions of viewers who would make a visit are as follow: Of the people who: Enjoyed it 82% would visit (Of 65) Enjoyed it & visited 53% would visit (Of 23) Disliked it 86% would visit (Of 7) Disliked it & visited 40% would visit (of 5) Given the values of 82% and 86% it appears that repeat visit may be based more on making the viewer aware of the property and its offering, than proving an enjoyable experience. The sharp drop in proportion who have visited appears normal as does the further drop when both the experience was disliked and the viewer has already been. Issues Other than minor changes to be made, no serious issues arose. The exhibit operated without failure for 5 hours over which over 200 viewers participated.

7 Development The field test was successful in testing the equipment in a real world demanding situation. With over 200 viewers participating, the exhibit operated without failure and with this new understanding, the operating procedures can be formalised. Over the coming weeks the animation will progressed to its final stage to include characters and dynamic environment changes. With the Trusts aid, finalised plans will be drawn up to ensure that the Dome exhibit succeeds as a public visitor engagement over the coming Easter break, the current dates for this are 7 th 22 th April. Specific elements of the exhibit that will be improved are as follow: Hardware The mirror/ projector rig was not used but is necessary to ensure that the equipment remains in place. The start button for the animation should be built in to the top of this for operational ease. A form of barrier is necessary at the front of the viewer area to prevent movement into the projection area. A suspended rope with visible markings would be sufficient. The foam matting to be sat on should be a different colour. Two benches should be placed either side of the door for 10 viewers. Prior to the test, it was thought that the dome could only take occupants at a time, however on reflection this can be increased to The dome blower does not fit under the marquee, a cover is required for it. This could be a waterproofed wooden box with appropriate holes. A queue system should be implemented. A small PC is required to replace the laptop. Rear speakers are easily knocked, these could be placed under the benches. A heavy rope at the domes perimeter is required to ensure that the dome remains in place under heavy wind. Software Audience enjoys close up objects in the dome, this should be used more for impact. There are still lighting issues with the Villa scene, it is too low contrast. When delivered off-site the experience requires further information and/ or narration. Some 360deg rotations where used. These are unnecessary and should be reduced to 180deg. Audience enjoyed point cloud but where unaware of its meaning, could provide more description. Some camera accelerations where to slow, these should be increased. Human figures are necessary to create scale. There is a problem with the water, it is too dark and has tearing issues.