Lombards on a tablet app for iPhone and iPad

“Lombards on a tablet” is an experimental museum visualization system based on tablet devices, enabling selective communication of historical and archaeological data on the iPad platform.

This project aims at a user-friendly visualization for a wide range of users, from simple museum visitors to scholars or researchers.

The final result is interactive 3D fruition of objects by means of photogrammetry and reconstructions; otherwise they would be displayed in a museum showcase or printed on scientific papers.

Lombard multipart belt-sets (a kind of belt which served to hang the dagger or small weapons) were selected as case studies, because of their shape and of the difficulty in finding high definition images of items of this kind.

The application guides and accompanies the user in a 3d-360° content exploration. With only a few taps, ancient artefacts take shape on a tablet right under fingertips, allowing a dynamic and comprehensive experience of multipart belt-sets.

All the minute features of small finds can be explored by users just rotating them. Using the same tools, scholars remain able to appreciate from a very close distance the fine work of ancient goldsmiths on archaeological finds maybe exposed in a remote museum.

The main goal of the project is an application dedicated to archaeological museums, but portable to several other research fields. It reinterprets museum items in digital format, allowing ease of navigation, with no lack of accuracy.

Portable devices are a promising way of making complex data available to public audience, who can enjoy full sight of interesting objects at will and according to their preferences.