Unflattening the World

    The physical world that we live in has three spatial dimensions. Consequently, we have evolved with sophisticated sensory capabilities that allow us to perceive three-dimensional objects in three-dimensional spaces. Without these 3D capabilities, even simple tasks like navigating through an apartment would be extremely challenging, let alone more complex tasks such as hunting for food, building a shelter, or driving a car.

    However, although most of us are fortunate to have these 3D sensory capabilities, we tend to view the world beyond our immediate surroundings through small, essentially flat, two-dimensional windows, such as televisions and computer screens. Clearly, this two-dimensional, smaller-than-life view of the world is not making the best use of our sensory capabilities. We are not getting all the sensory information, and so we are not having the most accurate, realistic, and compelling experiences.

    As any science fiction fan will tell you, the notion of a fully immersive, lifelike simulated experience that is indistinguishable from "real-life" is not a new one, and was certainly around long before William Gibson coined the phrase "cyberspace" in Neuromancer

• And "holodecks" became standard issue on Federation starships.
• As far back as the mid-seventeenth century, the French philosopher, scientist and mathematician René Descartes postulated the notion that the senses could, in theory, be completely fooled by a "malignant demon,"
• and that therefore everything we learn through our sensory apparatus should be treated as suspect. This notion is the basis for the philosophical method of inquiry known as Cartesian Skepticism, and more recently formed the basis for the plot of The Matrix.
• Descartes was also the originator of the Cartesian coordinate system, which provides the mathematical foundations of 3D graphics!

    However, since it's currently not possible to pick up a holographic projector at the mall, or download sensory experiences directly into our brains, we're stuck with trying to simulate the most realistic 3D experience possible in an essentially two-dimensional format.

    This article outlines some of the potential benefits of using 3D imaging to present cultural information over the World Wide Web, highlights a few examples, provides a brief overview of the enabling technology landscape, and concludes with some forecasts for the medium-term future. It does not attempt to cover more specialized applications or technologies, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM), 3D animation for commercial film and television, or immersive Virtual Reality (VR) hardware such as spatially-aware data goggles or data gloves.

Cultural Applications of 3D

    Most "memory institutions," such as museums, libraries and archives, have missions to both preserve and provide access to the collections in their care—missions that are not, in general, mutually compatible. One of the most compelling arguments for digitizing collections is that it helps institutions to address this dilemma; in theory, by putting digital representations of collections online, they can provide cheap, global access, 24/7/365, without any preservation risks whatsoever. Of course, this begs the question about the effect online collections access has on the level of demand for physical access, but the verdict is still pending on that debate.

    Clearly, for online collections to be useful, they must support the research needs of those who want access to them. This means that the digital representations of the items in the physical collection must contain enough detail to support the kinds of research that are required. This is relatively straightforward for many types of research using flat collections such as photographs or manuscripts, which can often be supported by good quality 2D digital images, because the images are sufficiently good reproductions that they can act as surrogates of the original for research purposes.

    However, digital images are less effective as surrogates for three-dimensional collections, because so much spatial information has been lost. The whole dimension of depth (the elusive z-axis) cannot be encoded in the surrogate, so the three-dimensional form of the object or space has to be flattened onto a two-dimensional view from a single perspective. In computer graphics the distinction between an object and a space is really just a matter of your point of view.

    Multiple 2D views can often help, and can even be used to simulate a 3D experience. For example, this QuickTime VR movie from the National Museum of the American Indian's Creation's Journey exhibition allows the object, an Inka goblet in the shape of a jaguar's head, to be rotated 360° and tilted by 90°, allowing the viewer to see the shape and overall design of the goblet and how it is constructed by stitching together multiple pieces.