UC Libraries Forum 2021: Leading with Innovation, Stronger through Collaboration

The means to accuratly digitize physical spaces and objects have become affordable and accessible, producing high resolution 3D models. This kind of data is increasingly common-place across disciplines but rarely shared in a way which preserves complexity or enables re-use. File sizes, arcane formats, and ever-shifting proprietary software dependencies present significant barriers to the use of 3D data outside of the creator’s own research silo.

The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) has provided a foundation on which we can view, share, and annotate images. These same capabilities can be extended to 3D data using the WebGL based Three.js viewer and powerful multiresolution asset loaders. Files are broken into component tiles, which can be streamed and embedded in custom interfaces living on external servers.

We present a system extending this model to 3D data and media, employing versatile multi-resolution web-viewers to present 3D data in an open, streamable, and interoperable framework which promises to make these important datasets accessible across devices and borders.