Lercari’s Heritage Interpretation Visualization and Experience (HIVE) Lab was established in the summer 2016 at the University of California, Merced.

The HIVE Lab is currently based on the University of California Merced campus in the Classroom and Office Building 2 (COB2 Room 344).

The HIVE Lab is home to an interdisciplinary group of researchers, at the graduate and undergraduate level, investigating a broad range of topics including digital heritage, digital archaeology, remote sensing for heritage diagnostics, unmanned aerial systems, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (A/R).

The HIVE Lab focuses on developing new knowledge and methods in heritage preservation and geospatial technology. Our goal is to understand how technologies influence cultural awareness and participation in protecting natural and cultural resources in California and worldwide. The lab is equipped with small UAS, laser scanners, thermal I/R cameras, VR and A/R headsets, data processing, and analysis software. Using this equipment and software, HIVE Lab members discover, develop, and implement data science methods and workflows that span the fieldwork, analysis, visualization, and simulation of heritage data.