Richard M - University of Calgary in Alberta



Richard M. Levy, PhD, MCIP, AIA Assoc.

Professor of Urban Planning

Program Director, Planning

Director of Computing

Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology

rmlevy@ucalgary.ca

ucalgary.ca/~rmlevy

phimai.ca

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Temple Site at Phimai, Thailand

Biographical Statement

Dr. Levy is a Professor of Planning and Urban Design at The University of Calgary. He has a BSCE from Tufts University, a M.Arch and Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. He currently serves as the Planning Coordinator (Chairman) for the Planning Program. Since 1996, Dr. Levy has also served as Director of Computing for the Faculty of EVDS. Dr. Levy is a founding member of the Virtual Reality Lab. He has directed projects with Archaeology, Geomatics Engineering, Industrial Design and Kinesiology. As a Professor of Kinesiology (adjunct), he has worked on several projects than involve the use of VR (Virtual Reality) technology as a training environment for Canadian Olympic athletes. This research project examines whether virtual reality can be used to enhance the performance and attitude of long track speed skaters compared to traditional visualization methods. Using the advanced capabilities provided by MACI, and support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Dr. Levy has built a computer reconstruction of the temple site at Phimai, Thailand. The temple complex that was built during the 11th and 12th centuries is one of several UN World Heritage sites in Thailand. Similarly, with Prof. Peter Dawson, Archaeology, and Dr. Charles Arnold Director, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife, Dr. Levy has created virtual reconstructions of a Inuvialuit sod house and a Thule Whalebone house. As a research tool, ultimately the creation of virtual world offers a framework for understanding the development of cultures from the past. With the corporate donation of a Cyrax laser scanner from SMED International, Dr. Levy has focused his worked on the use of high-resolution point cloud data to preserve Alberta’s historic architecture as 3D virtual models.

Education

PhD Area of Concentration: Architectural History

School of Architecture

University of California, Berkeley, 1980

Thesis Title: The Professionalization of American Architects and Civil Engineers, 1865-1917, Ph.D.thesis, University of California, Berkeley, 1980.

M.Arch. Area of Concentration: Design

School of Architecture

University of California, Berkeley,1975

BSCE Area of Concentration: Structural Engineering

College of Engineering

Tufts University

Medford Massachusetts,

(Tau Beta Pi) 1972.

Professional Membership

Canadian Institute of Planners

Alberta Association Canadian Institute of Planners

American Institute of Architects

SIGGRAPH

GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS 1997- present

2003 The 3D Web Research Network: Submission, Canadian Heritage New Media Research Networks Fund, Douglas MacLeod, Project Leader, NETERA, Researchers: Levy, R., Wyvil, B., Boulanger, P., Wright, R., Knowledge Media Design Institute. $2,000,000.

2003 Alberta Real Estate Foundation, Grant to support the creation of an area of concentration in real estate development and finance, $10,000.

2003 Canada Lands Corporation, Grant to support graduate research in urban planning and real estate development, $15,000.

2003 WestGrid, Canadian Foundation for Innovation, (CFI) Collaborative Visualization Research University of Calgary. Component. Project Team: Katz, L., Levy, R., Chang, E., Mattson, M., & Mitchell, D. (2002), $150,000

2002 Learning Commons Fellowship, Thule whale bone house: A virtual environment for exploring time and place, $15,000.

2002 Office of the Vice President Research, Chang, E., Katz, L., Levy, R, Parker, J. and, Kopp G. Effective Virtual Environments in Human Performance Sport and Fitness, $10,000.

2002 ICORE Chair Recruitment Grant, Katz,L. J. Caird, S. Carpendale, S. Greenberg, G. Kopp, R. Levy, R., Morey-Sorrentino, B. Wyvill $10,000.

2002 MACI, Multimedia Advanced Computing Infrastructure, Douglas MacLeod, Project Leader, NETERA, Researchers: Levy, R., Wyvil, B, Unger, B. $1,500,000.

Selected Publications:

Books Chapters

Wiessner G. and. Levy, R. Application and Evaluation of Visualization Techniques in Project Negotiation: The Nonthaburi Sustainable Canal Development Project in Thailand, Land Development in the 21st Century, edited by Hee Soo Chung and Soo Young Park, Seoul Korea: Eastern Regional Organization for Planning and Housing Korean Charter, 2001, pp. 733-741.

Levy R. Computer Visualization and DTM: Historic Resource Management and Design in Managing Community Tourism Destinations in Southeast Asia: Principles and Practice , CIDA funded publication, Bangkok, Thailand: Saengsawang World Press Co., Ltd, BAIT, 2001, pp.131-140.

Levy, R. and E. Dickson GIS Remote Sensing and Tourism Destination Management in Managing Community Tourism Destinations in Southeast Asia: Principles and Practice, CIDA funded publication, Bangkok, Thailand: Saengsawang World Press Co., Ltd, BAIT, 2001, pp.77-86.

Levy, R. The Role of Computers in Street Design, chapter in Images of the Street, London, England: Routledge Press Ltd., 1998, 58-72.

Journal Papers/Articles

Levy, R., P. Dawson and C. Arnold, Reconstructing Traditional Inuit House Forms Using 3D Interactive Computer Modeling, Journal of Visual Studies, 2004.

Levy, R. et. al. VR, Animation and Video: Speed Skating Simulations, IASTED International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Applications, Proceedings, 2002

Levy, R., Temple Site at Phimai, Modeling for the Scholar and the Tourist, VSMM Conference Proceedings, IEEE, 2001, pp. 147-158.

Levy, R. Virtual Reality and the Urban Landscape, Leonardo Electronic Almanac, International Society for the Arts Sciences and Technology (ISAST) and MIT Press, 8 (12) . 2001.

Wiessner, G., and R. M. Levy Application of Computer Visualisation Techniques in Project Negotiation: The Nonthaburi Canal Development Project in Thailand EAROPH Proceeding, Seoul, Korea 2000.

Levy, R. The Role of Computer Visualization in Design Review, Sixth International Conference on Computers in Urban Planning and Urban Management Proceedings, 1999.

Levy, R. Information Technology and the Planning Profession - Where is it taking us?, Plan Canada, Vol. 38, No. 5, 24-29

Levy, R. Data or Image: The Influence of Professional Culture on Computing in Design, Acadia Quarterly, Fall, 1997; 8-11,22-23.

Levy, R. Computing and Design: The Role of Design Culture, Canadian Society of Landscape Architecture, Proceedings, 1997.

Levy, R. Creating Models for Visual Impact Assessment, Tenth Annual Symposium on Geographic Information Systems Proceedings, Vancouver, Feb. 8, 1997.

Levy, R. Computer Modeling: An Image of the Future, Plan Canada, Vol. 35, No. 5, September, 1995, pp. 24-25.

Levy, R. Visualization of Urban Alternatives, Environment and Planning B, Spring 1995, Vol. 22, pp. 343-358.

Levy, R. Computer Modeling and Visualization in Urban Planing: An Instrument for Negotiating Public-Private Initiatives, Proceedings, Geoinformatics'95 Hong Kong: RS, GIS, and GPS in Sustainable Development and Environmental Monitoring, Hong Kong, 1995, pp. 564-573.

Levy, R. Real Estate Development and the Use of CAD: Visualization Techniques in Decision Making, Proceedings, CPGIS Annual Conference, Calgary, Alberta, June 13, 1994. pp.111-114.

Levy, R. Computer Modeling in the Urban Planning Curriculum, Plan Canada, Sept. 1993, pp 19-22. translated and republished, Bilgisayarin Kentsel Tasarim Egitimindeki Rolu, CAD, March 1994.

Levy, R. Planning for GIS, Plan Canada, July, 1993, pp. 43-44.

Levy, R. Visualization of Urban Alternatives, Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Computers in Urban Planning and Urban Management, Atlanta Georgia, July 24, 1993, pp. 537-563.

Selected Presentations 2001 –

Levy, R. and P. Dawson, Using CAD and laser scanning to model archaeological artifacts and historic sites, American Society of Archaeology, Montreal, QB, April 3, 2004

Dawson, P, and R. Levy, Constructing a 3D Computer Model of a Thule Inuit Whalebone House Using Archeological Data: A New Way of Visualizing Arctic Prehistory, American Society of Archaeology, Montreal, QB, April 3, 2004.

Levy, R. From Laser Scanning to Virtual Worlds: The Reconstruction of Traditional Inuit Houses, New Media Research Network Conference, Charlottetown, PEI, March 27, 2003.

Levy, R. Modeling of and Architectural and Archaeological, Sites, The 4th International 3-D Imaging and Modeling Conference, Banff, Alberta, October, 6, 2003.

Levy, R. VR a tool for Urban Planning, Canadian Institute of Planners, Annual Conference, Halifax, NS, July 8, 2003.

Levy, R., L. Katz, SR Sorrentino, X. Peng, Virtual Reality: Visualization for Athletic Competition, 4th International Conference of Computer Science in Sport, Proceedings, Barcelona, Spain, May 16, 2003.

Levy, R. and E. Dickson, Remote Sensing: A Tool for The Analysis of Urban and Regional Development, GEO Alberta 2003, Calgary, AB, May 8, 2003.

Levy, R. et. al. VR, Animation and Video: Speed Skating Simulations, IASTED International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Applications Malaga, Spain, September 9-12, 2002,

Dawson, P, Levy, R. and C. Arnold, Reconstructing Traditional Inuit House Forms Using 3D Interactive Computer Modeling, Canadian Archaeology Association, Ottawa, May 19, 2002.

Levy, R. Visual Simulation of Urban Environments, AACIP Annual Conference, Banff Alberta, Oct. 29, 2001.

Levy, R. Temple Site at Phimai, Modeling for the Scholar and the Tourist, VSMM Conference,

University of California, Berkeley, Oct. 23-25, 2001.

Levy, R. Virtual Tourism, Emotional Architecture, Conference, Banff New Media Institute, Banff, Alberta, September 24, 2001.

Levy, R. Computer Reconstruction and Visualization of the Temple Site at Phimai, Thailand International Workshop on Recreating the Past, Visualization and Animation of Cultural Heritage, Ayuttaha, Thailand, Feb. 28, 2001.

Exhibitions, Screenings and Publication of Computer Generated Images, 2001-

Journey to Kitgaaryuk” Virtual Reality, Interactive Multimedia Learning Program, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Ottawa, 2003, November 6, 2003 - January 9, 2004.

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Making the Virtual Real, (Levy, Gadbois), The 4th International 3-D Imaging and Modeling Conference, Banff, Alberta, October, 6, 2003.

Computer Reconstruction: Temple Site at Phimai, VSMM2001 Video, Special Public Screening, University of California, Berkeley, Oct. 24, 2001.

Exhibit

Computer Reconstruction: Temple Site at Phimai, in “Preserving the Past,” by Karen Molenbrey, Computer Graphics World, September, 2001, pp. 24-30. (See WWW.)

Computer Reconstruction: Temple Site at Phimai, Computer Generated Images, Canadian Architect, June 2001, p. 16.

Computer Reconstruction: Temple Site at Phimai, SIGGRAPH, 2001, Electronic Arts and

Animation Screening, SIGGRAPH2001, Los Angeles: California Los Angeles: California, Aug 13-18, 2001, . (see Phimai.ca).

Computer Reconstruction: Temple Site at Phimai, Second Annual Vancouver Island Film, Video & New Media Festival, Aug. 2-4, 2001, .

Computer Reconstruction: Temple Site at Phimai, CAC and the Art of Design, Edmonton, Alberta, June 22-July 4, 2001.

Selected Paper (If room allows)

From Laser Scanning to Virtual Worlds:

The Reconstruction of Traditional Arctic Houses

Richard Levy 1 and Peter Dawson2

1Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Alberta, Canada, T2N 1N4

rmlevy@ucalgary,ca

2Department of Archaeology, 2500 University Dr. NW, Alberta, Canada, T2N 1N4

pcdawson@ucalgary.ca

1. INTRODUCTION

The use of laser scanning technology offers the archaeologist and architectural historian a new means of capturing 3D images of artifacts, buildings and sites (El-Hakim, S. F, Beraldin, J.A, Picard, M. 2003). Key to the use of this technology for research and teaching is the translation of 3D data sets into multimedia products (Levy 2001). This discussion focuses on the work process responsible for creating virtual environments. The processes of building an interactive Inuvialuit sod house from the Mackenzie Delta region of western Canada and an Arctic Thule Wale bone house from Arviat are examined. Computer based learning environments were developed from these projects in conjunction with The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre and the Canadian Museum of Civilization. A goal was to provide archaeological reconstructions as well as artifacts from museum and archive collections in a form accessible to schools and communities throughout Canada. The virtual reconstruction of a Thule whalebone house from the Canadian High Arctic demonstrates the critical role 3D laser scanning data can play in the archaeological reconstruction effort. Both these case studies illustrate the importance of collaboration in the creation of multimedia products to serve the needs of universities, schools and museum.

2. METHOD

Creating virtual worlds that accurately represent archaeological and historic sites begins with the assembly and assessment of existing records, photos and plans. On both sites the archaeological records provided information on the terrain, the location of possible structures, building perimeters, the size and uses of internal spaces and the location of the entranceways. In both cases, site excavation data also revealed the types of materials that were used to build these houses. Laser scanning was critical in the modeling of the elments used in the construction of the Thule Whale Bone house. Restrictions on the excavation of the site would not permit the removal and examination of the whale bones. However, even if the bones had been removed from the site, their unique shapes and sizes, some over three meters in length, would have been difficult to model from field notes. Using a CYRAX2500 Laser scanner, a whale skeleton on display at the New England Acquarium was scanned, capturing the shape and size of the bones. A point cloud of over two million points (accurate to .5mm) was captured with a CYRAX2500 on a one centimeter point grid (Fig. 1).

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Fig. 1. North Atlantic Right Whale: Right - photo, Left – laser scan, New England Aquarium, Boston, MA.

Extracting individual bones for the modeling exercise was performed using Polyworks, an application by Innovmetric. With Polyworks, point cloud data was converted into optimized meshes that were imported into 3D Studio VIZ. Once the individual bones were scaled to those found on the site, reconstruction proceeded by placing the major elements (mandibles, maxillas, ribs, craniums) of the house form at possible locations within the building site perimeter. Constrained by the length and shape of these elements, a number of possible spatial solutions were created and examined for their strucutral integrity (fig. 2).

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Fig. 2. Computer model of an arctic Thule whale bone house from Arviat

Each trial was created using 3D Studio VIZ and loaded into a VR environment (Virtools), allowing the geometric details of assembly to be explored from any angle. Other products created during the course of the projects included QTVR and animations that could be easily shared by the researchers during the course of this research project.

The researchers working in conjunction with The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre and the Canadian Museum of Civilization developed a kiosk version of this interactive environment. “Across Time and Tundra: The Inuvialuit of the Canadian Arctic” showcases many of the digital artifacts created from laser scanning (Fig. 3). For the public, a digital version of an Inuit Sod House provides a context for the display of artifacts found on or near these sites. To create the digital copies of the Inuit tools, Prof. Denis Gadbois, Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary used a Cyberware laser scanner to capture point cloud data of representative Inuit artifacts. From these point clouds, 3D computer models were produced that were then featured as objects in a virtual world, embedded in webpages or used as part of video explaining life in the North. Visitors in this learning environment have the opportunity to learn how Inuit houses are built by interacting with video, audio and virtual worlds. In the virtual world, visitors can explore this unique architectural form, enter the living space, and click on objects that activate movies explaining how these artifacts were used in daily life. In addition, The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre used these materials to develop a web-based learning program on Inuvialuit culture and history, titled “Journey’s of Nuligak”. A goal of this project is to make museum and archive collections, as well as related cultural and heritage information from other sources, available to schools and communities throughout the Northwest Territories.

3. DISCUSSION

For the researcher, laser scanning technology can be of vital assistance in the virtual reconstruction of archaeological sites. In the case of the Thule whalebone house, arriving at the arrangement of these complex architectural forms could only have happened in virtual space. It is impossible to have the actual number of real whalebone elements in a good enough condition to physically reconstruct a Thule whale bone house. Though castings from the original skeleton might have been possible, cost made this solution prohibitive. In addition, having a virtual model permits the structural analysis of design solutions.

For the educator, challenges of integrating 3D media into a learning environment require the cooperative efforts of digital artists and computer programmers. Virtual worlds, if they are to be of value to educators in all fields, must address a range of concerns including, curriculum design and student accessibility. However, as databases of 3D learning objects become more prevalent, teachers and students will have the tools and components needed to personalize these virtual worlds. This opportunity to work interactively with virtual worlds will justify the investment of creating accurate models of cultural artifacts from laser scanning data.

REFERENCES

El-Hakim, S. F, Beraldin, J.A, Picard, M. (2003) Effective 3D Modelign of Heritage Sites, Fourth International Conference on 3-D Digital Imaging and Modeling, Proceedings, 302-309.

Levy R. M. (2001) Temple Site at Phimai, Modeling for the Scholar and the Tourist, VSMM Conference Proceedings, 147-158.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to acknowldge the support from Netera Alliance under the 3D Web Research Network, Canadian Heritage New Media Networks Fund, and the University of Calgary for their support under a Learning Commons Fellowship. Also, I would also like to thank Meridan Assoicates, Inc, Danvers, MA, for the assistance in laser scanning and the New England Aquarium, Boston for permission to scan their skeleton of a North Atlantic Right Whale.

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Fig. 3. Screen image from the virtual world of an Arctic Thule whale bone house with artifacts recovered from an archaeological site in the Mackenzie Delta.

IMAGES: I will be placing images on my webdisk for downloading.

Computer Reconstruction: Temple Site at Phimai, Thailand, 1999-2001

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Calgary Oval Seed Skating Simulator 2001

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A Virtual Reconstruction of St Mary's School, Calgary, City of Calgary, 2002-3.

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Computer model of an arctic Thule whale bone house from Arviat , Levy, Dawson, 2004

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