Abstract:

Nowadays, primarily due to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, 3D digitization has a key role in the preservation and presentation of cultural heritage. Digitized 3D models of cultural heritage describe the real shape and material of the object and have many advantages over common data such as images, drawings, and textual descriptions. They provide more analysis capabilities, as well as more flexible and attractive visualization. Virtual applications allow interesting and attractive ways for visualization, dissemination, and education on cultural heritage objects by providing interaction with digital 3D models or interactive 3D environment walkthroughs. Easy access to the presented heritage can be of key importance for cultural heritage promotion and dissemination.

This paper presents the virtual application "Roman Heritage in 3D" [1] realized as an outcome of the collaboration between the university and the museum to help educate visitors/users on the original appearance of preserved antic cultural heritage monuments from the museum collection. The application is based on digitized 3D models created by photogrammetry and the tool for developing an interactive web visualization. The original state of the digitized 3D models was reconstructed using high-resolution textures obtained by photogrammetry. The realistic interactive 3D walkthrough model can be accessed via a standard web browser and does not require any installation or specialized knowledge to be used. Besides showing how the objects look at the present moment, the user can choose to see how the object looked before or how it would look if it was made out of different materials.

The research aims to demonstrate the tools and methods used to digitize real cultural heritage objects and reconstruct their original appearance in the virtual environment. The workflow of using the photogrammetric method for 3D digitization, creating and altering obtained textures, and developing an interactive virtual visualization is illustrated. The results show that the synergy of 3D digitization and virtual application can serve as an attractive tool for dissemination and education about cultural heritage.

References:
[1] http://arhiva.muzejvojvodine.org.rs/images/Rimsko%20nasledje%20u%203D/index.html

Keywords:

3D digitization, photogrammetry, virtual application, interactive, visualization, cultural heritage, research, education.