Illuminating the past: state of the art

Virtual reconstruction and representation of historical environments and objects have been of research interest for nearly two decades. Physically-based and historically accurate illumination allows archaeologists and historians to authentically visualise a past environment to deduce new knowledge about it. This report reviews the current state of illuminating cultural heritage sites and objects using computer graphics for scientific, preservation and research purposes. We present the most noteworthy and up-to-date examples of reconstructions employing appropriate illumination models in object and image space, and in the visual perception domain. Finally, we also discuss the difficulties in rendering, documentation, validation and identify probable research challenges for the future. The report is aimed for researchers new to cultural heritage reconstruction who wish to learn about existing methods and examples of illuminating the past. Categories and Subject Descriptors (according ...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: VR
• Authors: Jassim Happa, Mark Mudge, Kurt Debattista, Alessandro Artusi, Alexandrino Gonçalves, Alan Chalmers
• Keywords: Computer Graphics, Computer Vision, Image Processing, Virtual Reality, VR 2010