UK Digital Heritage Centre (DHC)

利物浦大学虚拟工程中心(VEC)自2010年以来一直致力于利用虚拟现实(VR)和数字双胞胎来弥合学术研究与新产品和工艺开发之间的创新差距。我们经验丰富的团队与我们的商业和遗产合作伙伴密切合作，为利物浦城地区和其他地区带来影响。由于VEC是英国首批建立的VR设施之一，我们的团队是英国最有经验和最熟练的团队之一，利用VR、数字双胞胎、激光扫描、无人机(UAV)和摄影测量来创造逼真和引人入胜的虚拟体验和展品。我们的多学科团队包括可视化专业人员、开发人员和人为因素专家。VEC非常注重协作，这意味着我们与学术界、遗产组织和行业的合作伙伴密切合作。我们过去的工作意味着我们已经是许多当地遗产组织值得信赖的合作伙伴，我们也有案例研究，使我们能够在与潜在新客户讨论项目时展示我们的专业知识。这使我们能够在整个西北地区发展一个包括遗产遗址、博物馆和美术馆在内的当地合作网络。我们最近与圣乔治音乐厅完成了一个项目，创建了明顿瓷砖地板的栩栩如生的数字副本，其中包含30,000多块手工制作的单独瓷砖。使用我们的扫描技术，我们能够在不损坏瓷砖的情况下对地板进行3D扫描，捕捉到1毫米尺度的细节。然后，圣乔治大厅的参观者可以观看这个模型，以观看瓷砖的逼真视图，而不需要取下用来保护瓷砖的木质盖子。最近，VEC与我们的合作伙伴合作，领导了英国数字遗产研讨会2022，以促进我们和合作伙伴在数字遗产领域的知识共享。活动包括介绍、演示和小组讨论，以及为从事数字遗产工作的公司展示中小企业。VEC的数字转型团队将开发一个数字遗产生态系统，使英国成为数字遗产领域的世界领先者。作为这项工作计划的一部分，VEC团队将为利物浦市地区数字遗产战略的制定做出贡献。这一战略将侧重于遗产保护、促进其价值、对新一代的经验教训以及作为包容、教育和企业发展推动力的历史进程。鉴于我们的专业知识和我们在利物浦城地区开展的现有项目，VEC团队处于独特的地位，可以形成英国西北部数字遗产中心的枢纽。虽然我们现有的技术仍然使我们能够与我们的合作伙伴合作，但在这个快速发展的技术领域，我们的一些设备不再是领先优势，没有能力支持这一活动。这有可能限制我们继续扩大我们与当地遗产合作伙伴已经开展的工作的能力。通过支持我们技术的这些升级，AHRC将使VEC能够提供多年有影响力的项目，并使我们能够支持该地区无价遗产资产的数字保护，并与我们的遗产合作伙伴合作：1)为创建一个更可持续、更具包容性和更具创新性的英国遗产生态系统做出贡献2)向更广泛的网络(例如，学生、当地企业、行业领袖、遗产利益相关者)展示利物浦和西北地区的遗产3)支持合作项目，以改善遗产经济。保护和参与4)创建有影响力的数字双胞胎和身临其境的VR展览我们正在竞标GB 912,976.00 Inc.Strand 1下的增值税，以升级我们的设施，并在利物浦创建一个西北数字遗产中心。

The University of Liverpool's Virtual Engineering Centre (VEC) has been working since 2010 to bridge the innovation gap between academic research and new product and process development using virtual reality (VR) and digital twins. Our experienced team works closely with our commercial and heritage partners to deliver impact to the Liverpool City Region and beyond.As the VEC was one of the first VR facilities set up in the UK, our team is one of the most experienced and skilled in the UK at making use of VR, digital twins, laser scanning, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV's) and photogrammetry to create lifelike and engaging virtual experiences and exhibits. Our multi-disciplinary team includes visualisation professionals, developers and human factor experts.VEC has a strong focus on collaboration, meaning that we have worked closely with partners across academia, heritage organisations and industry. Our past work means that we are already a trusted partner for many local heritage organisations, and we also have case studies that enable us to showcase our expertise when discussing projects with potential new clients. This has enabled us to develop a local collaboration network across northwest that includes heritage sites, museums and galleries. We recently completed a project with St. George's Hall to create a lifelike digital copy of the Minton tiled floor, containing over 30,000 hand-crafted individual tiles. Using our scanning technology, we were able to 3D-scan the floor without causing damage to the tiles, capturing the details to a 1mm scale. This model can then be viewed by visitors to St. George's Hall to see a realistic view of the tiles without needing to remove the wooden cover used to protect them. Recently in collaboration with our partners the VEC led the UK Digital Heritage Symposium 2022 to enable knowledge sharing of our and partners work in Digital Heritage. The event included presentations, demonstrations and panel discussions as well as an SME showcase for companies working in Digital Heritage. The VEC's digital transformation team will develop a digital heritage ecosystem that will make the UK a world leader in digital heritage. As part of this programme of work, the VEC team will contribute towards the development of a Digital Heritage Strategy for the Liverpool City Region. This strategy will focus on heritage preservation, the promotion of its value, lessons to new generations and the progression of history as a driver for inclusion, education and enterprise. Given our expertise and existing projects that we are undertaking in the Liverpool City Region, the VEC team is uniquely positioned to form the hub for a UK Digital Heritage Centre in the Northwest.Whilst our existing technology still enables us to work with our partners, in this fast-moving area of technology, some of our equipment is no longer leading edge and has no capability to support this activity. This has the potential to limit our ability to continue to expand upon the work we have already carried out with our local heritage partners. By supporting these upgrades to our technology, AHRC would be equipping the VEC to deliver impactful projects for many years and enabling us to support the digital preservation of the region's priceless heritage assets and work with our heritage partners to: 1) Contribute to the creation of a more sustainable, inclusive and innovative UK heritage ecosystem2) Showcase Liverpool's and Northwest heritage to wider networks (e.g., students, local business, industry leaders, heritage stakeholders)3) Support collaborative projects to improve heritage economy, preservation and engagement4) Create impactful digital twins and immersive VR exhibitsWe are bidding for £912,976.00 Inc VAT under Strand 1 to upgrade our facilities and create a Northwest Digital Heritage Centre in Liverpool.