Mixed reality based interaction system for digital heritage

Abstract

User interfaces that leverages vivid computer graphics and virtual reality technologies provide effective means for exploring and inspecting cultural artifacts. Such virtual inspection systems help experience and disseminate cultural heritage. For such systems to be truly ubiquitous, they need to expose a user-friendly interface that an untrained population can find intuitive and engaging. In this paper, we present one such mixed reality (MR) based interaction system that can be used to visualize as well as explore cultural heritage. The system is demonstrated by an interactive exploration of 15th century 'Vittala Temple' located at a UNESCO world heritage site, Hampi. Our system investigates the augmentation of computer generated imagery with a physical replica to increase immersion and awareness. It uses monoscopic projection mapping on the 3D-printed replica laid out on a tabletop along with a vertical projection wall behind the tabletop, on which a 3D-rendered view is displayed. Projection on the physical layout is synchronized with the 3D rendering to allow projection of texture, navigation path, users current position, etc. on the tabletop. Users can interact with this system by simply waving a laser pointer to select structures or to define a path. We have additionally explored the benefit of using a steering wheel to further control the camera direction. Such a system creates and maintains a semantic relation between users actions and the resulting effect. The UI enables two major functionalities: interactive inspection of an architectural complex and the multimedia data attached to various components and artifacts.