Inspiration
96 percent of Egyptian heritage sites are neglected and can be easily stolen or destroyed. Egypt has more than 2,500 archaeological sites, 60 per cent of which are ancient Egyptian, while the remainder belong to the Abrahamic religions, comprising 40 per cent Islamic, Coptic, Jewish and modern sites.“Among the 2,500 sites in Egypt, only dozens are visited by tourists.
In a statement released by UNESCO, Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, asserted a dire need to protect Egypt’s ancient monuments and antiquities. “Egypt’s cultural heritage is not only an inheritance of the past, reflecting its rich and diverse history; it is also a legacy for future generations, and its destruction seriously weakens the foundations of Egyptian society.”
What it does
Egypt Time Machine is an immersive time travel multiplayer VR experiences allow you to relive the most memorable moments of amazing attractions around Egypt. Egypt Time Machine transports users right to the heart of the most memorable moments in history through immersive virtual reality experiences. With Pico 4, you can observe authentic cultures of past societies and relive monumental events in a deeply connected, immersive and emotional way
How we built it
Our solution is to create a digital twin for all heritage sites and 3D laser scanning is the most accurate method to do it. In VRTEEK, we already documented and laser scanned more than 30 heritage sites across Egypt in 5 years with 0.01 mm Accuracy. For every site we take from 3-9 months to create the digital twin (a useable 3D model with all the semantic information for simulation).
Challenges we ran into
It's a self funded project so the cost of Laser scanner and Hardware also the amount of permissions we take from The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to scan each site.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Our work was presented as a part of virtual reality od medieval culture project and shortlisted for Newton prize 2020
I got a fully funded scholarship from Goldsmith London to Study VR/AR
Shortlisted for the world summit award in Vina
we won the first place and the grand prize for the Samsung entaleq competition
Visa selected my co founder Rania Helal to represent tech woman across Europe Middle east and Africa region
What we learned
Storytelling and Narrative Design: Crafting an engaging VR experience requires strong storytelling and narrative design. we learned how to create compelling narratives that captivate users and keep them immersed in the virtual world. User Feedback and Iterative Development: Constant user feedback during and after the release of each VR experience provided valuable insights into what works well and what can be improved. The iterative development process allows us to refine the experience based on user reactions and suggestions, contributing to ongoing advancements in VR content creation.
What's next for Egypt Time Machine
Our immediate plan is to expand and accelerate these heritage preservation projects through VRTEEK to shape the future of museums and tourism in Egypt and MENA region in the coming years. Moreover, these kinds of projects will be a key player in flourishing the tourism industry in Egypt in a such challenging economic situation that the whole world has witnessed. Our long-term plan is to continue developing an evidence-based understanding of the role and potential of heritage sites, practices, and communities in developing long-term sustainable and inclusive peace across borders of conflicts through creative modes of cultural productions, education, tourism, and shared socio-economic and cultural benefits. I will anticipate developing modes, models, and forums for humanitarian heritage partnerships. This multi-disciplinary project will include specialists from technical developers, 3D artists, social sciences, heritage development, tourism, architecture, urban planning, history creative arts, museums, and education, amongst others. Also, it will involve many partnerships of universities, research organizations, NGOs and private /third sector enterprise
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