Panoramic Image Application for Cultural Heritage

Abstract

Advancements in remote sensing and communication technology caused a surge in new methods to capture and share information about tangible heritage. The documentation of these monuments is vital to the conservation process. However, current workflows generate an immense amount of information and often fail to properly relay the context of the scene. Additionally, the distribution of information between different stakeholders is paramount in preventive conservation. The goal of this research is to provide heritage experts with the tools to better capture and communicate information about heritage sites. More specifically, an image recording workflow is presented to rapidly acquire a series of panoramic images of the scene and present them accordingly. An online web application is created based on an existing viewer that allows even unskilled users to access the data and intuitively visit the site. The proposed application can be used to distribute information to stakeholders and supports decision makers to constitute a suitable treatment if necessary. Furthermore, the panoramic viewer and accompanying map can be used as a backbone to link to other data such as 3D models, orthographic images and so on.