Deconstructing the VR - Data Transparency, Quantified Uncertainty and Reliability of 3D Models

Abstract

The paper discusses two key concepts required for the use of Virtual Reality and 3D modelling as a research tool for the humanities: data transparency -what is the type and nature of the archaeological/historical/ethnographical material on which the 3D model is based, and reliability - how the user can scientifically analyse the model. In this article, we will presenta solution to these issues based on concepts deriving from fuzzy logic and fuzzy sets. Taking into consideration the "real nature " of humanities data, more often fuzzy than crisp, a different logic (fuzzy logic) should be applied when attempting to reconstruct a past reality. This will enable a quantifiable visualization of possible scenarios, otherwise discarded in traditional representations. Each scenario is accompanied with a "reliability index", estimated by the researcher according to his/her certainty on the existence of the modelled part and the "importance" of each component of the model. This approach will allow the user to reconstruct the "cognitive process" and the step-by-step "decision making" of the researcher that built the 3D model, and to open the model to a scientific analysis from a humanities point of view.