Towards a distributed 3D virtual museum

The paper addresses the problem of the representation of three-dimensional works of art (e.g. sculptures, architectural elements, vases, etc.) in a web-based environment. Specifically, we propose a system for the visual presentation of the 3D results of a standard SQL query to distributed archives. The system solves the general problem of the remote visualization of dynamic result sets on the Internet using standard and low cost processing architectures. It provides the user with an innovative visual metaphor for the analysis and investigation of the objects presented. Moreover, the system has been designed to provide capabilities which go beyond visualization (e.g. manipulation), and further extensions are possible. We describe the methodologies used for the acquisition, storing, and manipulation of 3D artistic objects together with details on the system's implementation in a web environment, using the VRML2.0 specification language.