Interactive scalable visualizations of cultural heritage for distance access

Abstract

Digitization of cultural heritage artefacts is now common. Creation of 3D models by various techniques is widespread. However, most spatial (3D) objects are still represented by photographs in portals such as Europeana. There is a significant potential of using 3D models for education, research, scientific collaboration and popularization. We describe a web-based application that allows scalable visualizations of 3D models ranging from mobile devices to large LCD walls in classrooms and laboratories. Synchronized simultaneous access over a network enables distance learning and collaboration using such models.