SOLUTIONS: DIGITAL HUMANITIES HUB, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM UNITED KINGDOM Digging deep
All screens are tightly networked, enabling a visitor to move the content they are looking at from wall to tabletop to handheld device
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An evolving exhibition uses digital technology both to enhance the visitor experience and to help organisers build up a profile of who their visitors are and what’s grabbing their attention, reports James McGrath
CREATING NEW and innovative ways of presenting content is key to operations at the University of Birmingham’s Digital Humanities Hub. The research facility is dedicated to developing digital technologies that enrich learning experiences in the spheres of heritage and culture. At the heart of the facility is the Chowen and Garfield Weston Foundation Digital Prototyping Hall. The hall has been transformed into an elaborate fusion of interactive research and exhibition space thanks to the use of digital technology – a result made possible by an intricate collaboration between the university and
AV visualisation specialist Mechdyne Corporation.
INTERACTIVE EXCAVATION The large-scale state-of-the- art 3D visualisation lab works on two levels. The first is essentially as a museum exhibition space, delivering content and engaging educational experiences to visitors.
The Hub’s staff are continually assembling and adding to the facility’s collectable materials and archives, using ultra-high resolution scanning to sample and catalogue items in 2D and 3D formats. These include items ranging from ancient artifacts and fossils to medieval maps, historical postcards and documents –
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most of which are far too fragile to be moved or displayed in a traditional gallery setting. To present the vast
quantities of subject matter to visitors, Mechdyne installed multiple touchscreens to create a comprehensive interactive experience. The exhibition space includes a mix of multi- touch displays, including four Panasonic 65in plasma displays, used as both touchtables and wall mounted, a single Samsung SUR40 touchtable running the Microsoft Surface operating system, and an Ideum MT55 touchtable (Pro Table International edition). Numerous 3D-enabled Sony Bravia 65in LCDs were also
fitted to ensure objects could be fully manipulated and every detail explored. To immerse visitors fully in the space, Mechdyne installed a 3m x 2m 4K 3D multi-touch wall constructed from Barco OLS 70in HD display cubes.
On entering the space, visitors are provided with a variety of tablets and handheld devices to take to the exhibition. “A visitor to the museum can walk up to a collection of assets displayed on a screen, touch a virtual folder to open it, and spread its assets out on a virtual desktop,” explains Dr Richard Clay, senior lecturer at the university and co-director of the Hub. “They can use familiar touchscreen gestures
Founded in 1996, Mechdyne is a leading provider of visual information technologies, with offices located around the world. It provides customised solutions that include consulting, software, technical services and hardware integration
Its array of services is designed to transform complex data into insights and ideas
Customers of the company include government laboratories, energy companies, universities, manufacturing and design firms
Mechdyne’s founders developed the first commercial CAVE to be driven with off-the-shelf PCs, the first rear- projected curved screen immersive visualisation system, and the first reconfigurable immersive room, the FLEX
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