A CGI approach to valuable historical technical heritage archival - for increasing awareness of industrial technologies and for use in technical education -

Abstract

In this research, our goal is to create multimedia content for selected machinery, aiming to communicate to future generations the operating behaviors of these machines valued as items of technological heritage. Thus far, three devices registered as Japanese heritage machinery have been modeled in 3D-CAD form, digitally assembled as a virtual reproduction and then animated to complete the CGI content. The selected machinery is listed below. 1) The hauling machinery at the Kosuge Ship Repair Dock at the Mitsui Historical Shipyards Museum was selected as the preeminent piece of Japanese heritage machinery by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers; 2) the third-ranked piece of heritage machinery, Kaheji Ito's forged-iron treadle lathe (Meiji 8/1875) is preserved at the Meiji Village open-air museum in Aichi prefecture; 3) the fourth-ranked piece of heritage machinery is the land steam turbine (Meiji 41/1908, Mitsubishi Joint Stock Corporation). These completed projects have all been donated to their respective museums to provide enlightenment and guidance to visitors.