*By Tatiana Rokou
The CirculAR augmented reality app brings Delos and other monuments to the fore using augmented reality, offering a new way to explore them.
The island, which was once sacred, of Delos is getting a new digital “face” through the CirculAR an augmented reality app that revolutionises the way visitors engage with cultural heritage. The solution aims to combine the archaeological experience with modern technology, offering direct benefits to cultural tourism operators, tour operators and hospitality professionals seeking new ways to enhance the value of visiting monuments.
The CirculAR application was developed as part of the European APSIM project by the I-SENSE research group at the Research University Institute of Communication and Computer Systems of the National Technical University of Athens, in collaboration with the Cyclades Ephorate of Antiquities, the Department of History and Archaeology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (University Excavation of Dion), the Epigraphic Museum of Athens and the companies GEOANALYSIS SA and Comic IKE. The project is being carried out as part of the “Research-Create-Innovate” initiative of the General Secretariat for Research and Technology, with co-funding from the EU.
Using a smartphone or tablet, visitors can “bring to life” the monuments of Delos in 3D, rotate them and explore them from all angles, creating a completely new visitor experience. Monuments such as the Temple of Apollo, the Stoa and the House of the Naxians, the Propylaea and the Lions’ Den are presented digitally, based on documented scientific content.
“We are actually bridging the imagination of today with life in the past. Through the app, you don’t just see stones or foundations; you see stories, you see architecture, you see human activities. So, the app becomes a means of interpretation and understanding, as well as an educational tool, based on scientific accuracy, and essentially transforms the ordinary citizen from a passive spectator into an active explorer. Thus, each tour becomes a journey of discovery, exploration, knowledge-gathering, interaction and connection”, Dr. Angelos Amditis, project coordinator and director of research and development at EPISEY/NTUA, told APE/MPA.
At the same time, he emphasises that the greatest value of the application is “that it acts as a bridge across time, connecting the past to the present and the present to the future. In this way, it helps us to preserve not only the material but also the immaterial dimension of history. To create knowledge and experience, and to forge a relationship between people and space”.
The app incorporates gamification and 3D modelling techniques, transforming the tour into a game of discovery. Using the device’s camera and sensors, it “reads” the natural landscape and digitally places the monuments in the exact spot where they once stood. “The user participates, learns and forms an emotional connection with the monument, transforming historical memory into a personal experience. And this is the aim: to creatively reconnect with the past”, Notes by Dr. Tina Katika, head of the XR department at I-SENSE.
Its use is not limited to Delos, as it enables visitors to explore other monuments, such as the Episcopal Basilica of Dion in Pieria and the Ark of Philo, with the prospect of adding further monuments in the future. The virtual reconstruction of the Ark is based on an inscription on display at the Epigraphic Museum in Athens.
The development of CirculAR was the result of a collaboration between experts from various fields: archaeologists, historians, computer engineers, interface designers and educators. “Where these fields meet, something unique was born: a shared way of recounting the past using the tools of the future… Thanks to this creative partnership, technology can gain depth, history finds a voice, and our cultural heritage is preserved and brought to life in an authentic, meaningful, accessible and experiential way”, emphasises Mr Amditis.
The CirculAR app is available free of charge for Android devices via Google Play and for iOS via the App Store.
Source: traveldailynews.gr