Explore Lost Worlds: Virtual Time Travel Tourism

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

• Overview of time travel and cultural heritage sites

II. Digitally Reconstructing Historical Sites

• Flyover Zone: an American Virtual Tourism Company
• The Five-Step Process of Digitizing Historical Sites
• Examples of Digitized Historical Sites

III. The Yourscape App

• Exploring Digitized Historical Sites using Smartphones, Computers, and VR Headsets
• Guided Tours and Independent Exploration

IV. Digitally Restoring Cultural Heritage Sites

• Collaborative Projects for Restoration
• Urgent Need for Cultural Heritage Preservation

V. Safeguarding Historical Monuments

• Sucho's Activism in Digitizing Cultural Sites
• The Need for Government-Sponsored Insurance Policies
• The Future of Digitizing Cultural Heritage

VI. Conclusion

• Summary of Importance of Digitizing Cultural Heritage Sites
• Call-to-Action for Preservation

Digitally Reconstructing Historical Sites

Have You ever wondered what life was like in ancient Rome, Greece, or Egypt? How about the Middle Ages or the Wild West? While time travel may not be possible yet, modern technology has allowed for the digitization of century-old cultural heritage sites. Researchers and archaeologists around the world have been digitally reconstructing significant historical sites, giving people all over the globe access to explore and learn about these important pieces of human history.

Flyover Zone: an American Virtual Tourism Company

One example of a company leading the way in virtual tourism is Flyover Zone. As of August 2022, the company has digitized nine ancient sites, including the Acropolis, the Tomb of Ramses in Egypt, and Ancient Rome. Bernard Fisher, the founder of Flyover Zone, takes us through the five-step process of their projects. He explains that if they have ruins, they can digitize what's left. For example, the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla are a mess, with only bricks remaining. However, Flyover Zone digitally restores that data and then re-contextualizes it. Once the bath is in the city model of Rome, users can take virtual time travel trips and understand what it was like to be there. Finally, when all of the work is done, Flyover Zone can present it to the public, disseminating their work in the form of virtual tours or virtual field trips.

The Yourscape App

All of Flyover Zone's 360-degree virtual environments are published on the Yourscape app. Users can experience the 3D sites using smartphones, computers, and VR goggles. The app even offers guided tours, but users can also stroll around the ancient sites on their own. Fisher explains that it's not just about offering people a new and immersive history lesson. By recreating ancient sites, the study of history could finally become empirical. The Flyover Zone founder states, "We're creating a James Webb Telescope for the arts and humanities. So just as the James Webb allows us to see astronomical objects and in astronomical time, very, very far away, what we're allowing you to do is see back in human history, human civilization, very far but very accurately, and have that experience of having been there."

Digitally Restoring Cultural Heritage Sites

While restoring ancient sites is a great way of teaching history, protecting existing cultural heritage is becoming increasingly urgent. In Paris, the Notre Dame Cathedral is being restored after a fire in 2019. Already back in 2004, researchers at the University ETH Zurich reconstructed the Great Buddha of Bamiyan in Afghanistan after the Taliban had destroyed it three years prior. Currently, in the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, an activist group called Sucho is digitizing as many cultural sites as possible to safeguard them from destruction.

Safeguarding Historical Monuments

Researchers estimate that only about 15% of the world's cultural heritage is currently available in a digital format. "What we need to get government to do is take out an insurance policy on their historic monuments by hiring companies like ours," Fisher explains. He believes that it will take many companies or university labs to digitize these things while we still have them. By taking these actions, we can ensure that cultural heritage sites will be preserved digitally, even if they are destroyed physically.

Conclusion

Digitizing cultural heritage sites is crucial for preserving human history and allowing people all over the world to learn from and appreciate it. Companies like Flyover Zone are leading the way in virtual tourism, making it possible for people to explore ancient sites from the comfort of their own homes. However, we must also take action to safeguard these valuable physical and digital assets from destruction. By hiring digitization companies and creating government-sponsored insurance policies for historic monuments, we can ensure that future generations will be able to experience and learn from our past.

Highlights

• Modern technology has allowed for the digitization of ancient cultural heritage sites, giving people everywhere access to explore and learn about these historically significant places.
• Flyover Zone is one company leading the way in virtual tourism, having digitized nine ancient sites, and making them available for users to explore on the Yourscape app.
• The study of history could become empirical by allowing people to virtually time travel and understand what it was like to be in ancient civilizations.
• Protecting existing cultural heritage physical and digitally from destruction is becoming increasingly urgent. Hiring digitization companies and taking out insurance policies on historic monuments can safeguard these valuable assets for future generations.

FAQ

Q: What is Flyover Zone? A: Flyover Zone is an American virtual tourism company that has digitized significant historical sites, making them accessible to users through the Yourscape app.

Q: How can users access the digitized historical sites? A: Users can access the digitized historical sites using smartphones, computers, or VR goggles.

Q: What is the James Webb Telescope for the arts and humanities? A: The James Webb Telescope for the arts and humanities is a term coined by Bernard Fisher, founder of Flyover Zone, to describe the company's efforts to create an empirical study of history by allowing people to virtually time travel and experience historical civilizations.

Q: What is Sucho? A: Sucho is an activist group currently digitizing cultural sites in Ukraine to safeguard them from destruction during the Russian invasion.

Q: Why is preserving cultural heritage sites so important? A: Preserving cultural heritage sites is crucial for preserving human history and allowing people all over the world to learn from and appreciate it. By safeguarding these valuable assets, we ensure they will be available for future generations to experience and learn from.