An Augmented Reality Mobile App for Museums: Virtual Restoration of a Plate of Glass

Abstract

One of the problems for archaeologic museums is having the opportunity to show most of the objects that they preserve. This is an action they can’t afford because of the limitation of exhibition spaces, the high number of artifacts they guard and/or the conditions of the real objects. Nowadays, with the use of cutting-edge 3D technologies, there is the possibility to offer virtual views of objects adding information and enhancing visitor’s experience. In this paper, an Augmented Reality app for visualizing restored ancient artifacts is presented. Based on an algorithm that addresses geometric constraints of fragments to re-build the object from parts, the AR application shows a reconstructed artifact offering the possibility for the user to visualize missing fragments. The app has been demonstrated using a real restored glass plate from the Manises Ceramic Museum, under the context of a research project funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness.