A service oriented mobile augmented reality architecture for media content visualization in digital heritage experiences

Mobile augmented reality has become an influential tool for digital content representation and visualization of media content in terms of enhancing users’ experience and improving the adaptability and usability of typical augmented reality applications, such as in e-commerce shopping, virtual museum, or digital heritage scenarios. This research proposes a new Service Oriented Mobile AR Architecture called SOMARA, which includes a novel mobile AR client application. SOMARA takes advantage the ability to integrate third party content through service orientation. The SOMARA architecture enhances traditional standalone mobile AR applications with embedded media content by uniquely integrating a web service framework into an augmented reality client application to create more efficient and flexible mobile augmented reality applications that efficiently supports novel media content acquisition and visualization through appropriate access parameters. The proposed architecture requires access to media content through specific media content service providers, e.g. a museum commissioning an augmented reality based museum interactive — predetermined media content, or any third party with their own service APIs, e.g. the Victoria and Albert Museum API — related external media content. This approach allows relevant third party media content to be ‘mashed’ via their public API with museums’ augmented reality interactive’s ‘embedded’ media content in the SOMARA mobile AR client. In this way novel mobile AR interactive applications, such as a museum augmented reality interactive, can be created based on particular museum environment scenarios that integrate a museum visitor’s experience with the interactive’s cultural objects. Such experiences based on a SOMARA type museum augmented reality interactive can also be saved allowing visitors to take home their museum experience. SOMARA thus allows museum interactive experiences based on visualization of museums and third party media content physically located in the museum to be migrated to the visitor’s home environment for further study, enjoyment and understanding. This unique feature, ability to effectively replay the experience at home, of the proposed system utilizes service-orientation to integrate third party media content, which is currently deficient from commercial augmented reality solutions

Development of service oriented mobile AR applications for museum learning activities

This paper presents the implementation of a Service Oriented Mobile AR Architecture focused on museum learning activities. The service-orientated architecture presented is a collaboration between a mobile AR platform and a web service framework that consumes third party service APIs or linked open data from participating museum collections. The architecture and associated codebase is used to implement virtual museum exhibitions based around mobile AR applications. It is also based on an open platform where the web service serves to move business logic that performs interoperability tasks including metadata, multimedia and 3D content acquisition and utilization to the front end. As such, museum content requests are implemented through APIs calls such as those provided by the Victoria and Albert Museum, Europeana, SierraLeoneHeritage, and other participating museum APIs. Further, the architecture can consume other third party APIs such as Google Maps. This paper describes the architecture and codebase that is now open source and can be used for developing a virtual museum exhibition based on the service-orientation — the codebase can be accessed on GitHub

Enhancing cultural heritage accessibility through three-dimensional artifact visualization on web-based open frameworks

This paper presents an innovative approach to cultural heritage preservation through the development of an open framework that leverages RESTful APIs to make high-fidelity 3D models of cultural artifacts accessible to any application. Focusing on antique kitchenware utensils from the Nakhon Si Thammarat National Museum in Thailand, this research utilizes photogrammetry to create detailed 3D models, which are then made available on a web-based platform, accessible globally via standardized HTTP requests. The framework enables real-time access to 3D cultural content, overcoming the geographical and physical barriers that often limit access to cultural heritage. By integrating these 3D models into RESTful APIs, the project not only preserves delicate artifacts but also enhances their educational and cultural value through interactive accessibility. This system demonstrates the practical application of digital preservation technologies and sets a precedent for future initiatives aiming to digitize and disseminate cultural artifacts more broadly. The implications of this study extend beyond preservation to include enhanced global accessibility, enriched educational resources, and a more inclusive approach to cultural engagement. This project illustrates the transformative potential of digital technologies in preserving, accessing, and experiencing cultural heritage worldwide.</p

The application of service orientation on a mobile AR platform — a museum scenario

Mobile augmented reality has become an influential tool for digital content representation in terms of enhancing users’ experience and improving the adaptability and usability of augmented reality applications. In our research, we have developed a service oriented mobile AR architecture for multiple applications, such as a museum interactive or web app. Our solution enhances closed platform mobile AR applications to create more flexible mobile AR clients that efficiently support content acquisition and utilization of third party digital media contents on a real scene. Our example web service framework on a mobile AR client exploits specific museum (e.g. Victoria and Albert Museum) or third party APIs (e.g. Google Maps) to aggregate data from participating web service providers. A typical media API content request is sent to a content provider to obtain a targeted cultural object’s associated media contents such as 3D models, images, text, videos and metadata. Acquired contents are then visualized in both VR and AR environments and consumed by mobile users. Other examples of supporting modules include photogrammetry based 3D reconstructions based on available commercial or open source web services and personalization that allow a user to request rich media, e.g. 3D models, and associated metadata, of a targeted cultural object for exploiting in a ‘saved museum exhibition’

Preserving southern Thai traditional Manora dance through mobile role-playing game technology

Manora or Nora has been added to the heritage list of UNESCO as Thailand’s intangible cultural heritage since 2021. This performance has been presented as a regional form of entertainment and traditionally passed down through generations within certain families. Nowadays, young people are able to learn and practice Manora instructed by their masters or their successors. However, there is currently no digital content of Manora that could support awareness and enrichment of cultural safeguarding, so this article proposes the design and development of a mobile 3D game representing Manora, which is Southern Thai dance-drama performing art. The aim of this game is to increase citizens’ engagement with their intangible cultural heritage and preservation by delivering novel digital heritage content specifically designed for a role-playing mobile game called Nara. The Nara game is used to enhance the perception of Manora dance and provide new experience of playing a culture-based game through costume and its material items. The game design process takes Manora’s significant identities including the costume, dance postures, and music along with players’ requirements to create a game player character, non-player characters, storytelling, challenges, and level design. The development of the game is done on Unity game engine which provides a mobile 3D game platform to integrate all the designed content and generate the interactive Nara game. The experimentation results conclude that utilizing the unique identity of Manora in gameplay successfully enhances the audience’s experience and recognition. This result indicates the effective use of creativity and interactive multimedia technology to create attractive content and enjoyment that can encourage intangible cultural heritage preservation in an innovative manner.</p

Preserving southern Thai traditional Manora dance through mobile role-playing game technology

Manora or Nora has been added to the heritage list of UNESCO as Thailand’s intangible cultural heritage since 2021. This performance has been presented as a regional form of entertainment and traditionally passed down through generations within certain families. Nowadays, young people are able to learn and practice Manora instructed by their masters or their successors. However, there is currently no digital content of Manora that could support awareness and enrichment of cultural safeguarding, so this article proposes the design and development of a mobile 3D game representing Manora, which is Southern Thai dance-drama performing art. The aim of this game is to increase citizens’ engagement with their intangible cultural heritage and preservation by delivering novel digital heritage content specifically designed for a role-playing mobile game called Nara. The Nara game is used to enhance the perception of Manora dance and provide new experience of playing a culture-based game through costume and its material items. The game design process takes Manora’s significant identities including the costume, dance postures, and music along with players’ requirements to create a game player character, non-player characters, storytelling, challenges, and level design. The development of the game is done on Unity game engine which provides a mobile 3D game platform to integrate all the designed content and generate the interactive Nara game. The experimentation results conclude that utilizing the unique identity of Manora in gameplay successfully enhances the audience’s experience and recognition. This result indicates the effective use of creativity and interactive multimedia technology to create attractive content and enjoyment that can encourage intangible cultural heritage preservation in an innovative manner.</p