The Wooden Tabernacles research project, which began in September 2022 and is still ongoing, concerns the digitization of a series of wooden tabernacles produced between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as historical and artistic testimonies of the Capuchin order in Abruzzo.
The aim of the project is to obtain, through SfM photogrammetry, a series of geometrically accurate 3D models that can be used to create physical replicas of the surveyed objects through 3D printing technologies.
The research project also includes the implementation of an Augmented Reality (AR) application for the visualization of the mapped 3D models and other queryable information. As is well known, Augmented Reality allows digital elements to be superimposed onto a real scene; this feature generates an enhanced perception of reality by applying, through the use of specific devices, a digital information layer that modifies the real scene in order to deepen knowledge and understanding. By combining this technology with 3D printing, it becomes possible to associate a physical object with a series of informational contents that enrich its fruition and accessibility.
The Augmented Reality application will make it possible to expand the experience of using the replica by adding a series of digital information layers (photos, videos, and 3D models) that can be activated by framing the replica itself. This application has already been developed by implementing the Model Target functionalities available through the Vuforia libraries within the Unity software environment.
The 3D-printed prototype provides a physical reproduction of the object at a 1:5 scale, capable of accurately reproducing the richness of detail of the original artifact.