Culture Meets Technology

Challenges and opportunities associated with deploying AR/VR technologies in Indigenous Research and Cultural Heritage Studies - Dr David Pyle, Brett Leavy

Challenges and opportunities associated with deploying AR/VR technologies in Indigenous Research and Cultural Heritage Studies are explored through analysis of the York’s Hollow: Virtual Corroboree project. 

A first of its kind collaboration between Queensland University of Technology and Bilbie Labs, the project harnesses state-of-the-art Motion Capture facilities to digitise movement by first-nation dancers and create an immersive 3D experience culturally specific to the locale of QUT's Creative Industries Precinct.

Nationally recognised indigenous game studio Bilbie Labs produce authentic cultural heritage simulations under the banner Virtual Songlines. Their team of artists and coders can take any location and generate a virtual recreation of that environment as it existed prior to western colonization. This immersive 3D landscape becomes the setting for a virtual experience that explores the heritage of traditional owners – combining elements of dance, authentic local stories, traditional practices and role-play based cultural survival. Traditional custodians can use these technologies to explain lores and customs of First Nations People and disseminate better understanding of natural environment and signs in the land.

However exploiting the powerful visual attraction of a high-tech medium and utilising its unique learning affordances is not for the feint-hearted. This paper discusses the gains but also examines the many pitfalls associated with harnessing a modern triple-A game production pipeline for research and cultural messaging.