Virtual reality as a tool to enhance the efficiency and reliability of the virtual reconstruction process for heritage/archaeological sites: The case of umm Al-Jimal in Jordan

Abstract

The growing attention towards reconstruction, driven by its potential to promote sustainable heritage preservation, is impacted by a shortage of the data, sources, and interpretive methods employed in virtual reconstruction. Consequently, the public (individuals and reviewers/Professionals) faces challenges in determining between the original elements and the added elements, in addition to identifying the origin of the new elements. Despite researchers' efforts to implement virtual reality as a solution, its effectiveness is constrained to the end outcome due to the lack of integration of reconstruction information. A set of factors contribute to the challenge of incorporating interactive information into virtual reality, including the researcher's expertise in virtual reality software and the deterministic nature of the C programming language. This necessitates the development of more user-friendly methods to support researchers in reducing the shortage and limitations. As a result, the study aims to develop a method for simplifying the process of transferring virtual reconstruction operations to virtual reality and test its efficiency through interviews with individuals and reviewers/Professionals. This is accomplished through the integration of virtual reconstruction steps with the Unreal Engine program, which serves as a virtual reality platform and is easier to program than Unity which is more prevalent in heritage research. The findings delivered a more efficient approach to collecting diverse sources and integrating them into one platform simply. This approach also facilitates direct communication between reviewers/Professionals and researchers, thereby enhancing the efficiency of the reconstruction peer review process. Furthermore, the utilization of virtual reality has played an important role in enhancing comprehension between what is the origin and added, as well as facilitating the validation of the rebuilding procedure among individuals and reviewers/Professionals.