On Wednesday, 23 May 2025, the RISPRO team of Tadulako University joined an internal monitoring and evaluation session for the project “Development of an Integrated Management System ‘Negeri Seribu Megalit’ as a Learning Resource, Tourism, and Cultural Heritage Conservation”. Held via Zoom, the meeting convened Head of Research and Innovation Dr. Burhanudin Sundu, principal investigators, and program managers to review achievements and challenges across the project’s key indicators.

The session opened with an update on the Integrated Governance Model for “Negeri 1000 Megalit.” Although the governance framework was drafted and piloted in two regional workshops, it remains under final adjustment of interagency coordination mechanisms before its official launch.

Scientific publications to date include two accepted articles in reputable journals, one on VR/AR educational media featuring megalithic site objects and another on the heritage asset reporting system at the local government level. A third manuscript on local wisdom and archaeological studies, incorporating the results of ongoing stone analysis, is currently being drafted and will be submitted once laboratory work is complete.

The AR marker prototype is finalized and field-tested, while the VR module awaits hardware procurement. The project website is live at negeri1000megalit.com, with most educational content in the process of upload and technical verification.

Regarding the academic manuscript and draft Regional Regulation, the team reported that the academic draft is under preparation, with legal harmonization and stakeholder consultation ongoing; it has not yet been submitted to the Regional Parliament.

The session concluded with an emphasis on accelerating content publication on the Negeri1000Megalit portal and preparing for a national seminar featuring an AR marker demonstration. These monev recommendations will guide the project’s final phase, ensuring timely delivery of all outputs and maximizing benefits for the conservation of Central Sulawesi’s megalithic heritage.

On 25 April 2025 the RISPRO team at Tadulako University completed an end-to-end workflow converting field video recordings of megalithic sites into three-dimensional Augmented Reality models. In Bada Valley, researchers captured every contour and carving of statues and menhirs using a high-definition handheld camera. Those clips were broken down into thousands of still frames, over 1,000 full-HD images to preserve every crack and erosion pattern with precision.

All extracted frames were imported into photogrammetry software, where a Structure-from-Motion algorithm aligned the images into a sparse point cloud before generating a dense point cloud of tens of millions of 3D points. These points were then triangulated into a mesh, which was optimized down to approximately 200,000 triangles to balance accuracy with runtime performance. UV unwrapping and texture baking mapped original photographic pixels onto the mesh, capturing moss, chisel marks, and natural wear.

Once meshing and texturing were finalized, the model was exported as an FBX file and brought into Unity Editor to build a standalone application. In Unity, each model was configured as a prefab with AR marker setup—point a smartphone at the physical marker and the 3D statue appears, ready to rotate, zoom, and reveal pop-up panels of historical narration and local wisdom.

The first image shows the RISPRO team recording field video across the valley, the second captures the Unity Editor during app development, the third displays the 3D mesh in the photogrammetry workspace, and the fourth presents the final AR Megalitikum 3.0 interface ready for deployment.

This development represents a major milestone in the “Development of an Integrated Management System ‘Negeri Seribu Megalit’ as a Learning Resource, Tourism Attraction, and Cultural Heritage Conservation” project.

The RISPRO Universitas Tadulako team completed four field survey phases across Central Sulawesi—Napu Valley, Bada Valley, Poso, and Behoa. Each expedition began on entrance roads with vastly different conditions, as illustrated in the following three images.

The field vehicle inches through a deep puddle on the dirt access road. Drivers had to visually gauge water depth to avoid becoming stuck. Pre-ride logistics checks, including engine inspection and equipment safeguards, were essential before fording these muddy patches.

The team’s adaptation to rugged terrain. Where the dirt track narrowed and was overgrown with tall grass, trail motorcycles carried cameras and equipment. Team members on foot followed, guiding the bikes through particularly deep mud.

On paved sections between Poso and Behoa, severe erosion created large cracks and potholes along the roadside. The third photo captures the collapsed edge, forcing vehicles onto emergency side tracks. Local residents assisted with makeshift wooden supports, slowing but ultimately enabling safe passage.

Despite these challenges, the team successfully performed smartphone photogrammetry on each statue and recorded GPS coordinates to map 15 megalithic sites. All photographic and spatial data have been uploaded to the Negeri1000Megalit portal to inform access-improvement recommendations and long-term conservation strategies.

On Wednesday 25 March 2025 the RISPRO Universitas Tadulako team made its third visit to the Central Sulawesi Cultural Office to discuss the development of educational content for the megalithic site documentation project. Two prior meetings in 2024 had established funding frameworks and fieldwork schedules.

During this session the Cultural Office presented their existing educational booklet for site visitors. The RISPRO team then introduced a prototype Augmented Reality (AR) marker designed for inclusion in the booklet; visitors simply point a smartphone camera at the marker to view a 3D model of the megalithic statue alongside its historical narrative.

The discussion expanded to plans for an Indonesian-language podcast series exploring local myths, megalith construction techniques and indigenous wisdom. Both institutions also agreed to showcase the research outputs—including the AR marker, podcast excerpts and interactive booklet—at a cultural tourism exhibition organized by the Central Sulawesi Tourism Office. The exhibition will allow visitors to experience the digital content firsthand while learning about the history.

This initiative aims to strengthen ties between Untad’s academic research and the regional government’s cultural preservation efforts, ensuring that every research innovation delivers broad community benefits. All educational content will be archived on the Negeri1000Megalit portal and made freely accessible in a shared commitment to safeguarding Central Sulawesi’s megalithic heritage.

5 December 2024, Bada Valley – Central Sulawesi

Bada Valley stretches between verdant rice paddies and rolling hills, hosting at least 15 carved statues and menhirs dating back millennia. This several-square-kilometer area preserves a prehistoric legacy of harvest rituals and ancestral veneration still remembered by the local community.
The RISPRO Universitas Tadulako team conducted a field briefing before entering the site network.

The gateway to the Suso Megalithic Cultural Reserve marks the expedition’s starting point.

Researchers employed a smartphone photogrammetry app to scan each statue from multiple angles, amassing hundreds of high-resolution images for processing into Augmented Reality 3D models. This approach preserves every carving detail without physical contact.

A hollow “mortar” statue beside a small stream was likewise documented, capturing fine contours and fissures for remote analysis.

At each statue location, the team interviewed local elders and junior high school students to uncover the historical and mythical significance imbued in each stone. The site caretaker guided the team in determining each statue’s orientation toward sunrise.

The survey also included a tilted head statue, evidencing the continuity of worship traditions into the modern era.

Over eight hours in the field, the team navigated narrow tracks and tall grass, recording distribution patterns and morphological variations of each statue. All collected imagery and GPS coordinates will be uploaded to the Negeri1000Megalit portal to support conservation recommendations and forthcoming scientific publications, ensuring Bada Valley’s heritage endures for future generations.