3D Holoscopic Imaging for Cultural Heritage Digitalisation

Abstract

The growing interest in archaeology has enabled the discovery of an immense number of cultural heritage assets and historical sites. Hence, preservation of CH through digitalisation is becoming a primordial requirement for many countries as a part of national cultural programs. However, CH digitalisation is still posing serious challenges such as cost and time-consumption. In this manuscript, 3D holoscopic (H3D) technology is applied to capture small sized CH assets. The H3D camera utilises micro lens array within a single aperture lens and typical 2D sensor to acquire 3D information. This technology allows 3D autostereoscopic visualisation with full motion parallax if convenient Microlens Array (MLA) is used on the display side. Experimental works have shown easiness and simplicity of H3D acquisition compared to existing technologies. In fact, H3D capture process took an equal time of shooting a standard 2D image. These advantages qualify H3D technology to be cost effective and time-saving technology for cultural heritage 3D digitisation.