INTERACTIVE ONLINE VISUALIZATION OF COMPLEX 3D GEOMETRIES

Abstract. In the last decade 3D datasets of the Cultural Heritage field have become extremely rich and high detailed due to the evolution of the technologies they derive from. However, their online deployment, both for scientific and general public purposes is usually deficient in user interaction and multimedia integration. A single solution that efficiently addresses these issues is presented in this paper. The developed framework provides an interactive and lightweight visualization of high-resolution 3D models in a web browser. It is based on 3D Heritage Online Presenter (3DHOP) and Three.js library, implemented on top of WebGL API. 3DHOP capabilities are fully exploited and enhanced with new, high level functionalities. The approach is especially suited to complex geometry and it is adapted to archaeological and architectural environments. Thus, the multi-dimensional documentation of the archaeological site of Meteora, in central Greece is chosen as the case study. Various navigation paradigms are implemented and the data structure is enriched with the incorporation of multiple 3D model viewers. Furthermore, a metadata repository, comprises ortho-images, photographic documentation, video and text, is accessed straight forward through the inspection of the main 3D scene of Meteora by a system of interconnections.