Virtual Reality for Cultural Heritage Applications

Many heritage and cultural sites all over the world§are being destroyed or lost to urbanization,§pollution, neglect, and even tourism and the§recognition for the issues of preservation,§restoration, and interpretation of cultural heritage§sites has increased tremendously over the recent§years. Virtual Reality (VR) technology provides for§an important educational tool by offering immersive§and interactive qualities where the user can§virtually enter and explore the digital§reconstructions in real-time while providing a learning-by-doing scenario through innovative§interaction techniques. This book presents a cultural§heritage application utilizing VR technology to§recreate a fully immersive 3D environment of a§complex heritage structure§specific to Singapore. A Chinese calligraphy brush is§introduced as the interface to the VR environment for§navigating and executing commands. A Virtual Tour§Guide also guides the visitors around the heritage§site. By presenting a real-time framework for§creating digital heritage applications, this book§should be especially useful for VR professionals as§well as historians and heritage experts interested in§heritage preservation and restoration.