Walkthrough_Amar Oitijjho

A WALK THROUGH OF THE ENTREPRENEURIAL INITIATIVE THAT COMBINES CULTURAL HERITAGE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUGMENTED REALITY

amar oitijjho

by IMAMUR HOSSAIN.

"Monuments are for the living, not the dead. Preserve them, love them and pass it on to generations to understand their importance.”

My Heritage

The Bengali phrase 'Amar Oitijjho' can be translated as 'my heritage'. We have intentionally employed the pronoun ‘my' to stress individual attachment, involvement in, and personal adaptation of a common cultural heritage, while underlining that this heritage belongs to the broader community. In a globalized world where we are continuously overwhelmed by influences from diverse cultures, it is essential that we take pride in and develop an intimate attachment to the cultural elements that distinguish us apart and define our identity.

The history and identity of a country can be found in its cultural heritage sites. All nations have their own unique storytotellthroughtheirheritagesites.

•Learningheritagehasapositiveinfluenceonyoungsters.

•Educatingchildrenaboutthecultureandheritageoftheir own country develops a sense of identity, promotes selfrespect,andfosterspatriotismatayoungage.

• By influencing children's inquisitiveness with an interactive learning system, a successful heritage learning strategy can foster the development of a sensible future generation.

TAKING TECHNOLOGY AS AN OBE TOOL

Increasing the effectiveness of education is a major priority for educators. In contrast, researchers in the field of educational technology have been on the lookout for better education media used to support teaching, and Augmented Reality (AR) has emerged as a promising option. Many people believe that AR has the potential to enhance learning and performance in any field where there is a tangible equivalent. We have taken advantage of the possibility to employ virtual reality for studying and exploring cultural heritage sites. The theoretical basis for an augmented reality (AR) learning environment, both in and out of the classroom, has been thought to improve education and foster stronger relationships between students.

the thoughts that iniated

amar oitijjho

The initial thought

How well do our children know about our heritage sites?

In 2019, we asked social science and arts teachers from five different Bangladeshi schools to help us with a small survey. We utilised the most ubiquitous object in our daily lives, the taka currency note. Each one incorporates a heritage site. Only around 26 percent of the students among 93 responded with correct answer and we have found that a gap exists.

According to the survey, a significant majority of children are unaware that Bangladesh is home to a variety of heritage sites with rich histories and cultural value.

COVID-induced challenges

In 2020, when we first considered employing technology to incorporate cultural sites into schools, we encountered difficulties caused by covid. We have witnessed lockdowns in which classrooms were abandoned.

The obstacle

The opportunity in disguise

Integrating [Interactive] technological features in learning culture and heritage

When the covid scenario is seen in the context of the year 2020, however, things have changed, as we now have experienced teachers who have learnt to offer classes via the Internet and mobile devices. The students were also adjusting to it. The COVID era made it easier for children to pick up basic computer and technological skills.

VIRTUALHERITAGE INTERPRETATION

The post-covid era has the capacity to incorporate technology into the educational system. Given the development and flexibility of technology applications in learning systems, we wanted to utilize this chance to incorporate interactive technology features in learning culture and heritage. We explored developing an application that could scan a banknote. In the projection of a similar 3D model, users will be able to pan, zoom, and rotate, in addition to receiving granular information. However, we have considered bringing the original place to life in 3D, as opposed to something that is pastiche and could be perceived as computer-generated at the first place.

MAKING CLASSROOMS MEANINGFUL

Intricate documentation from historic sites

A PROJECT THAT FOLLOWED INTERDISCIPLINARY

COLLABORATION

RESEARCH +

PLANNING EVALUATION

REVIEW

Processing the obtained data while constructing 3Ds and synthesising the textures, materials, properties from geo-located dense point cloud information

IMPLEMENTATION

To train the application to recognize taka notes using artificial intelligence and deep learning

Developing an android based-augmented reality program to superimpose a three-dimensional representation onto a real-world physical note.

Team Architects

Team Amar Oitijjho

Team Programmers

Team Outreach

Imamur Hossain. Project Lead. Fariba Samia Omi. Architect.

Tasdid Hossain. Programmer. Atiqul Islam. Programmer.

Amir Hamza. Outreach Planner, Sadia Ferdous. Outreach Planner.

RATIONALE

This project aims to develop an Android smartphone application that can recognise Taka banknote photos and display a corresponding 3D model on the mobile screen using augmented reality. The anticipated outcome is that the 3D model can be placed on any flat surface to provide a realistic appearance. The application can be summarised in three stages: creating an AI model, creating an endpoint to receive relevant information about an image being captured, and finally connecting the result of the second section to anAugmented reality engine (ARCore/Vuforia) to display the 3D model on mobile screens. The first phase of development is collecting real world imagery of bank notes that the intelligent system will use to identify them. Through the collection of information, a comprehensive image library should be compiled, including photographs of 10, 20, and 100 taka banknotes captured from different camera angles and under varying lighting circumstances. More photos can be added at any time, and the AI model can be retrained multiple times to improve overall accuracy. The picture dataset will be utilised to train and evaluate the intelligent model. Convolutional Neural Network, which has an excellent track record for picture recognition, might be an acceptable choice for this purpose. Once the model has been constructed, we can go on to the second stage, which entails establishing a dictionary to label photos with the required names so that the AI system can recognise an image and deliver a result indicating what image it has detected. The dictionary's provided data will then be transferred to the developed augmented reality framework to display the required 3D model.

DEVELOPING LAYOUT AND PROGRAMMING INITIATION

SITE VISIT

3D MODELLING

APPCORE ELEMENTS

USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN

EXPLORATION

BACKEND DEVELOPMENT

DEVICE

SENSOR SERVICE

AI STACK

CORE FUNCTIONS EXPLORATION

IMMERSIVE ASPECTS

FEATURE MATCHING

LAYOUTDESIGN METHODOLOGIES SELECTION MACHINE LEARNING

IMAGE RECOGNITION LEARNING MODEL

TENSOR FLOW

DEFINE PLATFORM SCENARIO UI ELEMENTS INTERACTIONS

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

AR STACK

DEVELOPMENT TOOLS SELECTION

AUGMENTED REALITY CORE

MOTION TECKING

LIGHTESTIMATION

ENVIRONMENTAL UNDERSTANDING AR MODELPLACEMENT OS STACK ANDROID API

IDEATION

DESIGN

UI/UX

DATABASE

PROTOTYPE

PLANNING SCOPES

FUNCTIONALITY TESTING TEST

ERRORAND

AI AR

Take a 5, 20 or 100 taka note.

Flaen the note if it is folded. Place the currency note on a table or any flat surface. Place the note in a lighted area with the side of the note with the heritage site illustraon facing up.

Click on the ‘Open AR’ buon of the Amar Oijhho app. Now select 'Detect notes by camera'. The app will turn on the camera. Now hold the phone in front of the note. The app will now start idenfying the currency note.

When the note is idenfied you will see the actual 3D model of the illustraon on the note’s surface.

While we are in the process of making this app available on the Google Play store, you can download it using the QR code on the left.

Notes in Bangladesh are usually composed of paper rather than polymer, therefore their physical appearance differs based on the condition of the note as there could be wear and tear. At the same time, user's environment and surroundings can vary depending on factors like overall illumination and the phone camera's operational status. For best results, we recommend using crisp, undamaged taka notes without folds or tears, the app may otherwise mistake them for other bills. We advise users to launch the app and move the phone camera to the illustrated heritage building once the note has been unfolded and placed on a flat surface. As soon as the button is pressed, the app will recognize the note. Once the user has done this, they can move their phone a short distance away from the note so the app can recognize the physical surface around the note, and in under a minute, a 3D model will be placed on the note surface. or https://cutt.ly/CV4ZVTB or https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YLpMPzkqorEUQHTXqJMioPwi-mGXh56d/view?usp=sharing

Try it yourself: Kusumba Mosque

AR Instructions

1. Launch the Application

2. Select the ‘Open AR’

3. Select ‘Detect Note by Camera’

4. Move the phone camera to the illustrated heritage building

5. Press the shutter button, the app will recognize the note

6. Move your phone a short distance away from the note so the app can recognize the physical surface around it

7. Wait around 30 seconds, a 3D model will be placed on the note surface.

(Alternately, you can select 'Open from Library' for pre-selected taka notes if the application is unable to identify the note.)

About Kusumba Mosque

Kusumba Mosque is one of the national heritage sites of Bangladesh which is situated in Manda Upazila of Naogaon district of Bangladesh. It is printed on 5 taka note. This mosque was built in 1558–59 and is often nicknamed as "The Black Gem of Bangladesh". The mosque has a rectangular plan with three bays and two aisles. The main fabric of the building is of brick the entire exterior walls and the interior up to the arches of the pendentives have stone facing. The columns, platform, floor, and perforated side screens are of stone.

Try it yourself: 60 Domes Mosque

AR Instructions

1. Launch the Application

2. Select the ‘Open AR’

3. Select ‘Detect Note by Camera’

4. Move the phone camera to the illustrated heritage building

5. Press the shutter button, the app will recognize the note

6. Move your phone a short distance away from the note so the app can recognize the physical surface around it

7. Wait around 30 seconds, a 3D model will be placed on the note surface.

(Alternately, you can select 'Open from Library' for pre-selected taka notes if the application is unable to identify the note.)

About 60 Domes Mosque

The Sixty Dome Mosque is a mosque in Bagerhat, Bangladesh. It is a part of the Mosque City of Bagerhat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the largest mosque in Bangladesh from the sultanate period (1352–1576). It was built during the Bengal Sultanate by Khan Jahan Ali. It is printed on 20 taka note. The 'Sixty Dome' Mosque has walls of unusually thick, tapered brick in the Tughlaq style and a hut-shaped roofline that anticipates later styles. The mosque has an oblong plan of 148'6" x 101'4" externally and 123'3" x 76'2" internally.There are 77 low domes arranged in seven rows of eleven, and one dome on each corner.

Try it yourself: Tara Mosque

AR Instructions

1. Launch the Application

2. Select the ‘Open AR’

3. Select ‘Detect Note by Camera’

4. Move the phone camera to the illustrated heritage building

5. Press the shutter button, the app will recognize the note

6. Move your phone a short distance away from the note so the app can recognize the physical surface around it

7. Wait around 30 seconds, a 3D model will be placed on the note surface.

(Alternately, you can select 'Open from Library' for pre-selected taka notes if the application is unable to identify the note.)

About Tara Mosque

Tara Mosque / Star Mosque is a mosque located in Armanitola area, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The mosque has ornate designs and is decorated with motifs of blue stars. It was built in the first half of the 19th century by Mirza Golam Pir (Mirza Ahmed Jan). it is printed on 100 taka note. Built in the Mughal style by Mirza Ghulam in the late 18th century, this mosque was originally a simple rectangular mosque, measuring 33' x 11'. The mosque is decorated with Japanese and English china clay tiles and used both methods of the Chinitikri application.

PART C

TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES

Exploring virtual heritage with communities in remote, rural and underprivileged settlements

Outreach : at a glance

Asapartoftheoutreachactivity,wehaveexploredhowinfusingvirtualheritage into everyday contexts might foster spontaneous participation from a wide spectrum of communities and could have a profound impact on children. Surprisingly, we had a terrific time with them, especially the children, who were eager to see the formerly unseen culturally significant places in their immediate vicinity.

We intended to investigate virtual heritage with diverse groups from underprivileged, rural, and remote regions, where it is difficult to travel to heritage places and culturally significant sites. We held an art competition after establishing the context of cultural heritage with a few slides, while the children conveyed their understandings of and relationship to 'culture' in a follow-up discussion, as it was our objective to transform well-known historic places into hyper-real spaces and explore whether it could have the ability to engender positive forces of communal cohesiveness. And based on our observations, this virtual heritage initiative somewhat fulfilled its goal of enabling communities to discuss, provide meanings, and explore their cultural identity throughthenotionof'shared'culturalheritagesites.

Findings: place attachment / diversity- unity / cultural significance POTHER SCHOOL

The inaugural event took place at Pother School, a platform that works for social improvement and educates disadvantaged children in order to empower them and promote social equality. The children were thrilled to encounter hyperreality, and we found they had a deep affinity for outdoor cultural monuments and places as Golap Shah Mazar, Baitul Mukarram, and even the TSC.

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Findings: from local to global / emotions / nostalgia

Another school was explored in the tranquil village of ‘Pakomba’ in northern Bangladesh. We planned a sketching project with them in which the children would communicate their emotional connection to places in a delightful manner. We discovered that the students were enthusiastic about their introduction to virtuality. After being encouraged to sketch places where they have an emotional attachment, they take it a step further by expressing their own understanding of objects, places, and cultures, as well as their personal attachment to these.This aided in establishingaconnectionwiththenationallysignificantheritageplacesthatweprojectedvirtually.

Findings: cultural identity / diversity / nationhood

Finally, we travelled to a tiny settlement of Santal communities, where these people have been living peacefully for many years and where a small school is administered by some outstanding teachers from this community. The youngsters and the old members were quite outspoken about their cultural awareness, and they were also pretty willing to share it.

Shapla Community School

Reflections

These activities were a part of the outreach of Amar Oitijjho supported by the EMK Center in which we are attempting to project these hyperreal 3D's utilising AR and AI on banknote surfaces, primarily on a small virtual scale at this phase. We wanted to disengage from the paradigm of photorealism and was focusing more on to the interpretation of heritage, despite the fact that the target audiences are somewhat mesmerised by the visually compelling, highly sophisticated 3D elements that cannot be distinguished from the actual physical objects due to their identical materiality, textures, and impressions. Moreover, AR is the option that is most accessible to the general people, as it employs ubiquitous media such as mobile phones, whereas VR requires expensive, custom-built technological equipment. Our own goal was to utilise this potential and make it meaningful for interpretation, conceptual learning, and outcomebased education. The Bengali phrase 'Amar Oitijjho' can be translated as 'my heritage'. We have intentionally employed the pronoun ‘my' to stress individual attachment, involvement in, and personal adaptation of a common cultural heritage, while underlining that this heritage belongs to the broader community. In a globalized world where we are continuously overwhelmed by influences from diverse cultures, we feel that it is essential that we take pride in and develop an intimate attachment to the cultural elements that distinguish us apart and define our identity.

About EMK Center

Initially created in 2012 through a partnership between the Liberation War Museum and the American Center of U.S. Embassy Dhaka, the EMK Center is a non-partisan platform committed to open dialogue, informed action, individual and artistic expression, and personal and professional development. We define public service as service on behalf of the people – by anyone, anywhere, anytime.

The EMK Center honors the legacy of public servants worldwide, exemplified by the men and women who fought for Bangladesh’s independence in 1971 and by U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who was moved to take action then and throughout his life in support of his convictions. In February 1972, Senator Kennedy planted a banyan tree on Dhaka University’s campus as a living tribute to friendship, resilience, and hope, and it stands today.

Project Lead

Imamur Hossain

Architect. Heritage Professional. Commonwealth Scholar.

Imamur Hossain is an Assistant Professor of Architecture having research and practice-focused background in cultural heritage. His research interest is critical heritage studies, architectural conservation, heritage interpretation and virtual heritage.

imamur.hossain@gmail.com

Fariba Samia Omi

Architect. Heritage Expert. Documentation and 3D visualizer

Fariba Samia Omi has been working as an architect for over 8 years, during which time she has amassed extensive expertise in 3D visualization, heritage documentation, and project management. She has spearheaded a number of cultural heritage preservation-focused initiatives.

Team

Programmers

Tasdid Hossain

UX and app developer.

Tasdid Hossain is an expert in the development of android applications, cyber security, and blockchain. He has research and field experience from the United States, South Korea, Malaysia, and Australia.

Team

Programmers

Atiqul Islam

App developer. AI expert.

Atiqul Islam is an expert in android application development, AI exploration and AR integration. His field-based experience and research have both been in related fields.

Lead Architect

Outreach and Communication Expert.

Team Outreach

Outreach and Communication Expert.

Amir Hamza

Amir Hamza is a practicing architect based in Dhaka and he has experiences in project management, outreach and communication.

Team Outreach

Sadia Ferdous

Sadia Ferdous is a practicing architect based in Dhaka and he has experiences in project management, outreach and communication.