Facilitating Situated Crowdsourcing of 3D Cultural Heritage via Asynchronous Virtual Collaboration

Abstract

Crowdsourcing via mass photogrammetry is a viable approach for acquiring collections of 3D cultural heritage objects. The essence is to outsource onsite image acquisitions to the crowd whose contributions can be aggregated and processed into 3D models. Prior research has proven that synchronous offline collaboration can leverage positive collective behaviours. However, forming an ad-hoc team requires external operations and can hinder potential participation. Therefore, this study investigates how technology-supported collaboration can be integrated into situated crowdsourcing to reduce organisational costs, lower participation barriers, and achieve high-quality crowdsourcing performance. The goal is to develop a systematic approach to facilitate virtual collaboration where volunteers can self-select, engage, and contribute asynchronously. We proposed and implemented an operational model comprising multiple information and communication technologies. The platform was deployed and tested through field experiments, and its performance was compared with two other crowdsourcing means with different levels of organisational control. The cross-evaluations confirmed the effectiveness and efficiency of our mechanism. It stimulates increased participation and better-quality contributions than conventional open calls. Its self-selecting nature provides the necessary freedom and flexibility to promote gathering volunteers with shared interests at far less coordination than synchronous offline collaboration. Surveys of user experiences also reveal that individuals find the process more enjoyable with less effort on the users’ side. This empirical study derives concrete design implications for situated collaborative crowdsourcing, offering practical insights into volunteer-based technology use and user-generated content contribution in the digital heritage field.