Virtual Tang-Style Timber-Frame Building Complex

Timber-frame building is one of gems of Chinese ancient buildings. Protecting and researching historic buildings by using computer technologies has become a hot topic and urgent task in the field of digital cultural heritage, with increasingly disappearing the timber-frame buildings and their architectural arts and crafts. This paper introduces constructing an information system based on virtual reality technology of timber-frame buildings, and addresses important technologies involved in reconstructing ancient buildings, such as data collection, 3D reconstruction, data organization and management, virtual assembly, and virtual roaming. An integrated solution is proposed and provides a brand-new method for 3D reconstruction, documentation, repair, research and protection of timber-frame buildings.