TO ACHIEVE REAL IMMERSION: The 3D VIRTUAL and PHYSICAL RECONSTRUCTION of CAVE 3 and CAVE 12 of YUNGANG GROTTOES

Abstract

As the 3D laser scanning and photogrammetry technologies continue to mature, more and more applications founded in numerous areas. The realistic 3D models are mainly adopted for digital display uses, such as the 3D game, web showcases, head-mounted display, etc. While we are enjoying the vivid digital sceneries through different kinds of digital display screens, there are still challenges exist for the 3D printing application, especially for large size objects. In this article, we will present an approach on digitizing and 3D replicating large grottoes. Unlike 3D rendering, 3D printing requires high detailed shape data for the fabrication. Such demands cause many technical difficulties including huge data amount, accurate dense point cloud, high-resolution texture mapping. We chose cascade SfM, grouped MVS, automatic texture mapping to prepare the high definition colored 3D model for printing and painting references. Meanwhile, we optimized 3D printing procedure as well as post-processing, installation, lacquer and painting. Two replicas of 10- meter sized grottoes have been manufactured after four years of efforts, which have earned some appreciations from audiences.