Accessible Digitisation and Visualisation of Open Cultural Heritage Assets

Abstract

In this research, we proposed a methodology for documenting open and medium-large scale cultural heritage assets. By open we mean both in the sense of their location in open spaces and the fact that they are openly accessible to the public. We take advantage of the maturity of 3D digital technologies for enabling communities across the world to support the documentation of Cultural Heritage (CH) assets that are accessible to the public. For the present project, we focus on producing digital replicas of public sculptures from the Modern period situated in public spaces in Rio de Janeiro. We propose the adoption of an open-source pipeline, based on photogrammetry, which is implemented in separate phases: identification, data acquisition, processing, evaluation, and access. These phases present various challenges, in particular given the medium-large scale of such assets and the variety of spaces in which the assets are located including open spaces and other locations in which it is difficult to control the digitisation conditions. The evaluation and access of the resulting documentation is a key component of such projects. We suggest that community-led approaches have the potential to generate digital resources that are relevant both for professionals and the general public. We discuss various options for access, such as web-based solutions, Augmented Reality (AR) applications, as well as 3D printed digital replicas.