The University of Southampton, partnered with Southampton City Council, has launched a project using augmented reality to immerse visitors, digitally, in the city’s most iconic medieval buildings.
From the University of Southhampton.
3D laser scanning by university researchers and students allows people to explore the structures via smart phones using exceptionally detailed computer models, known as ‘digital twins’. The virtual reproductions include some areas which are normally inaccessible, like underground vaults.
The data gathered is also important for the preservation of archaeological sites and serves as an invaluable online resource available to scholars from anywhere in the world.
The project began in 2021 when Southampton City Council (SCC) undertook renovation work on the Weigh House in French Street. The building dates to the mid-13th Century and originally housed a weigh beam, scales and weights for measuring merchandise, particularly wool, for customs purposes. Scanning was then extended to a further 14 structures and hundreds of objects.
The archaeologists spent over two years intricately mapping buildings, including city attractions such as the Bargate and God’s House Tower; but also lesser known ones, such as St Michael’s Prison Vault , which was converted into an air raid shelter in World War Two and The Undercroft , an ornate centuries old vault.
In addition to online content hosted by Southampton Cultural Services (SCS), the team has produced a series of postcards featuring QR codes which trigger 3D augmented reality content. Visitors and local residents can use the cards to enhance the real world places they visit, exploring on their phones from all angles, inside and out. Each is accompanied by a creative, historical story.
For more information on medieval buildings CLICK HERE.
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