ABSTRACT
Modern digital technologies allow potentially to explore Cultural Heritage sites in immersive virtual environments. This is surely an advantage for the users that can better experiment and understand a specific site, also before a real visit. This specific approach has gained increasing attention during the extreme conditions of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. In this work, we present the processes that lead to the implementation of an immersive app for different kinds of low and high-cost devices, which have been attained in the context of the 3dLab-Sicilia project. 3dLab-Sicilia’s main objective is to sponsor the creation, development, and validation of a sustainable infrastructure that interconnects three main Sicilian centres specialized in augmented and virtual reality. The project gives great importance to the cultural heritage, as well as to the tourism-related areas. Despite the presentation of the case study of the Santa Maria La Vetere church, the process of the final app implementation guided by the general pipeline here presented is general and can be applied to other cultural heritage sites. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Virtual Reality (VR) is a robust tool for sponsoring Cultural Heritage sites. It enables immersive experiences in which the user can enjoy the cultural assets virtually, behaving as he/she would do in the real world. The covid-19 pandemic has shed light on the importance of using VR in cultural heritage, showing advantages for the users that can visit the site safely through specific devices. In this work, we present the processes that lead to the creation of an immersive app that makes explorable a famous cultural asset in Sicily, the church of SS. Crocifisso al Calvario. The application creation process will be described in each of its parts, beginning from the digital acquisition of the cultural asset to the development of the user interface. The application is provided for three different VR devices: smartphones equipped with cardboards, headsets, and CAVE. The paper is supported by the 3DLab-Sicilia project, whose main objective is to sponsor the creation, development, and validation of a sustainable infrastructure that interconnects three main Sicilian centres specialized in augmented and virtual reality. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.