Intel and the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) have announced a new immersive virtual reality (VR) experience that will allow users to dive into some of the country’s most treasured art and history. The aim of the project is to transform the future of education and the museum experience by digitizing and providing a detailed 3D recreation of collections, giving access like never before.
Though the Smithsonian’s museums see over 30 million people through the doors each year, hundreds of millions of people will never be able to visit in person. The new VR experience creates the opportunity for those who may not be able to visit in person to see the collections up close, within virtual space. The partnership between Intel and SAAM will bring a new chances for education and researchers to get up close and personal with the Renwick Gallery’s current exhibition, “No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man.”
John Bonini, vice president and general manager, VR, Gaming & Esports at Intel Corporation commented on the news saying: “Virtual reality will bring about cutting-edge computing experiences and accelerate new possibilities for how people will explore and interact with the world around them. As the technology evolves, immersive museum experiences will become the norm. Bridging physical and digital worlds to study American art in classrooms around the globe is just a first step in exploring what is possible when we combine the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s passion for education with Intel’s innovation.”
Intel’s advanced technologies will allow for SAAM to accelerate their existing process of 3D digital capture and increase access to its collections with the help of the powerful 8th Generation Intel Core processors, cloud-based platforms and much more. The goal is to encourage 24/7 access to the museum, affording educators and other museums and public audiences the opportunities to become more immersed in some of America’s most treasured collections, in full immersion.
As the SAAM continue bring more of their collections into virtual space, Intel will be working with them to further expand the VR experience. You can see the experience in motion in the below video that Intel released, and VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on the partnership of Intel and the SAAM.
via Mint VR