Swiss help bring Roman Pompeii back to life
swissinfo
November 21, 2004 7:50 PM
Visitors to Pompeii will now be able to see and hear life as it unfolded in Roman times, thanks to a computer project spearheaded by Geneva University.
The LifePlus programme takes real images of the ruined Italian city and adds the life that is missing, including simulated animals, plants, and humans.
The ruins of a bar come to life as visitors wearing 3D glasses watch the waiter pouring out spiced wine for customers. In a nearby room, a beautiful woman reclines on a couch as she is wooed by a handsome centurion. Meanwhile, two women in Roman garb have a heated discussion as they wander through a leafy arbour.
With the prototype, images are supplied by a computer carried in visitors’ rucksacks, but eventually they could be sent from a tiny computational device fitted to the headset.
How it works
MIRALab developed the life simulation part of the software, taking advice from historians on what sort of clothes the Romans wore, how the material flowed, and how people behaved.
Doctorate research projects were set up to develop software for simulating the hair, clothes, facial expressions and speech.
Three dimensional images were created using new algorithms, allowing computing to be done in milliseconds. The idea was to make the virtual life viewed through the 3D glasses seem to happen in real time.
A key partner in the project was Oxford-based 2D3, which sells camera tracking software to film companies around the world. Their product, Boujou, helps filmmakers insert computer-generated material into real footage.
