On-site AR Interface based on Web-based 3D Database for Cultural Heritage in Egypt

We have been developing a web-based 3D archiving system for supporting the diverse specialties and nationalities needed for carrying out the survey and restoration work of the archaeological project at the Mastaba of Idout in Saqqara, Egypt. Our 3D archiving system is designed for the spontaneous updating, accumulating, and sharing of information on findings in order to better enable frequent discussions, through a 3D virtual copy of the field site that a user can visit, explore, and embed information into, over the Internet. This paper proposes an AR (augmented reality) interface for on-site use to enhance access from mobile devices at the actual site to the archiving system. We utilize SFM (structure from motion) to organize the photos and their shooting viewpoints in 3D space. Then solving the Perspective-n-Point (PnP) problem, a photo taken at the site can be stably matched to the pre-registered photo sets in the archiving system and the archived information is automatically overlaid on the photo with precise perspective, just in the same manner as exploring the virtual version of the site on desktop PCs. This paper shows effective AR representation performance with millimeters precisions of the AR representation at the on-going project site, as well as the implementation details.