Abstract
In this paper we describe and demonstrate our technology for creating super high resolution & 3D digital content for a variety of applications including museum artifacts and galleries, archeology, anthropology, art design and heritage conservation. Our hardware can capture minute details of static scenes in a composite panoramic format with details surpassing the human eye. We also propose an approach to storing SHR 3D images for efficient retrieval over bandwidth limited networks, such as the Internet. Regions of interest specified by users are stored in multiple levels of detail hierarchy. An implementation of the browser for Virtual Museums is also presented. In addition to browsing images, our software provides the ability to support "interactive story telling." As viewers interact with a picture using a mouse, the descriptions of objects in the scene appear depending on the location of the mouse and the level of detail in the scene. Finally, the "Zoomage" tools can be used by academic researchers for various applications including object recognition, digital archiving, accurate stereo reconstruction, and 3D visualization.