Web-Based Three-Dimensional Augmented Reality of Digital Heritage for Nighttime Experience

Abstract

Digital heritage is a sustainable medium that allows people to understand the historical shape and context of cities and architecture, leading to visions for the future. Opportunities for the public to experience life-size representations of digital heritage in threedimensional augmented reality (3D-AR) at outdoor sites are still limited, especially at night. Therefore, the objective of this study is to develop a web-based 3D-AR method to digitally reconstruct a heritage site. A prototype system was developed using the five-storey pagoda of Tango Kokubunji Temple, which was built around 1330 AD and later destroyed, as a digital heritage reconstruction. An interactive initial positioning method was developed to display the five-storey pagoda on real historical foundation stones by tapping a crosshair button, under the condition that the artificial lighting is insufficient at night and the distance between the viewpoint and the 3D model of the pagoda is large. Combining the lighting effects of the real and virtual worlds at night was also demonstrated. We held an event where the general public could experience 3D-AR on their own mobile devices, and conducted a usability evaluation to verify the system.