Extending our exhibitions

BY SARAH SEDDON

In the throes of lockdown, the Shrine was faced with the challenge of meeting their commemorative audience’s needs and was seeking alternative ways to connect to the public. The silver lining in this disrupted world was the ability to solve a problem and provide an alternative way for the public to connect with the Shrine of Remembrance through an online virtual tour. Now as we enjoy relative freedoms out of lockdowns, the opportunities of this technology continue.

The Shrine’s special exhibitions typically have a life of 12 months, after which they are preserved only through still images. However, this cutting-edge technology means these exhibitions will now remain open for the whole world to visit virtually.

To capture the exhibitions, we map out a customer journey and, using a sophisticated 360 VR camera on a tripod, move through the space one metre at a time taking 3D scans. The camera used to capture this is aptly named Theia, named after the Greek Goddess of Sight.

The camera is operated remotely from an iPad and captures dynamic, stabilised, 3D footage. The sophisticated software then stitches these panoramic images together using artificial intelligence to create the 3D digital twin.

To create the virtual tour of the Shrine’s Galleries of Remembrance, 861 panoramic photographs were taken along with 935 aerial photographs. In the smaller galleries that house special exhibitions, 78 panoramic photographs are typically taken.

From there, we add dynamic multimedia tags with interactive hot spots and clickable objects, meaning virtual visitors can delve deeper into the history and stories embedded in the exhibitions. Importantly, it allows visitors to virtually walk through at their own pace and at a time convenient to them.

This cutting-edge technology is now being used to create a virtual archive of past gallery exhibitions so virtual tours can occur well into the future. Recent exhibitions captured virtually include Imagining Centaur, Lust Love Loss and Defending with Pride: Stories of LGBTQ+ service.

There are also plans to bring the Shrine to remote and regional schools via facilitated virtual tours hosted by members of the Education team.