Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1593
Rome —one of the great cities of Western Civilization and the capital of the Roman Empire—was not built in a day; it expand- ed and evolved over centuries. Even when an international group of archaeologists, historians, and CG technicians completes its work on an interactive 3D digital model of ancient Rome at the peak of the city's de- velopment in 320 AD, the project will have taken far more than a single day—hundreds of days, actually. Yet, the feat, even by today's standards, will be impressive nonetheless. e historically accurate digital re-cre- ation—which melds the wondrous tech- nological achievements of the past with those of the present—off ers a comprehen- sive, holistic perspective of this amazing city. e most impressive aspect of this re-creation is the sheer scale of the model: It encompasses 7000 carefully reconstruct- ed, detailed period buildings covering 10 square kilometer (3.86 square miles) of authentically contoured landscape. And when this virtual model is completed in the spring of 2009, users will be able to explore the ancient cityscape, structures, and alleyways in real time and in high reso- lution. What's more, all the imagery and information will be rendered interactively within the user's Internet browser. Accomplishing such a Herculean virtual building project required a number of CG innovations, not only in modeling and rendering, but also in the management of enormous datasets and the ability to easily update and display such information. Also noteworthy is the fact that Rome Reborn 2 will establish a new form of scholarly com- munication, and its technological innova- tions can be used to further modern-day urban-modeling projects. "Rome has a long and interesting his- tory," says project director Bernie Frischer, "though the city's reign as the cultural and political center during the height of the Roman Empire knows no rival." Two thousand years later, archaeological evi- dence of this period is present throughout the city: a nearly perfectly preserved Pan- theon, a partly destroyed Colosseum, re- mains of ancient city walls, arches, public meeting places, palaces, and more. Yet, an Re-creating an accurate interactive 3D model of ancient Rome required a long-term collaboration among archae- ologists, scholars, and technicians. Project director Bernie Frischer conceived the idea nearly three decades ago, and in just a few months, he will see the fi nal fruits of the labor. Virtual Architecture ■ ■ ■ ■ Rome Reborn 2 is interactive, enabling the user to select the viewpoint while exploring the area.