Development of a stereoscopic 3D display system to observe restored heritage

The authors have developed a binocular-type display system that allows digital archives of cultural assets to be viewed in their actual environment. The system is designed for installation in locations where such cultural assets were originally present. The viewer sees buildings and other heritage items as they existed historically by looking through the binoculars. Images of the cultural assets are reproduced by stereoscopic 3D CG in cyberspace, and the images are superimposed on actual images in real-time. This system consists of stereoscopic CCD cameras that capture a stereo view of the landscape and LCDs for presentation to the viewer. Virtual cameras, used to render CG images from digital archives, move in synchrony with the actual cameras, so the relative position of the CG images and the landscape on which they are superimposed is always fixed. The system has manual controls for digital zoom. Furthermore, the transparency of the CG images can be altered by the viewer. As a case study for the effectiveness of this system, the authors chose the Heijyoukyou ruins in Nara, Japan. The authors evaluate the sense of immersion, stereoscopic effect, and usability of the system.