A True AR Authoring Tool for Interactive Virtual Museums

TL;DR

This paper introduces a True AR authoring tool for virtual museums that enhances realism and interactivity, enabling visitors to experience indistinguishable augmented artifacts and environments for cultural heritage preservation.

Contribution

It presents a novel True AR authoring platform for virtual museums, including a sample application with interactive components and realistic 3D reconstructions.

Findings

Realistic 3D reconstructions of artifacts and environments

Enhanced visitor engagement through indistinguishable AR experiences

A functional prototype demonstrating True AR capabilities

Abstract

In this work, a new and innovative way of spatial computing that appeared recently in the bibliography called True Augmented Reality (AR), is employed in cultural heritage preservation. This innovation could be adapted by the Virtual Museums of the future to enhance the quality of experience. It emphasises, the fact that a visitor will not be able to tell, at a first glance, if the artefact that he/she is looking at is real or not and it is expected to draw the visitors' interest. True AR is not limited to artefacts but extends even to buildings or life-sized character simulations of statues. It provides the best visual quality possible so that the users will not be able to tell the real objects from the augmented ones. Such applications can be beneficial for future museums, as with True AR, 3D models of various exhibits, monuments, statues, characters and buildings can be reconstructed and presented to the visitors in a realistic and innovative way. We also propose our Virtual Reality Sample application, a True AR playground featuring basic components and tools for generating interactive Virtual Museum applications, alongside a 3D reconstructed character (the priest of Asinou church) facilitating the storyteller of the augmented experience.