IMAGINE diving into the deep Mariana trench in the Pacific Ocean, being a trader living in the 16th century during the Melaka Sultanate or an astronaut exploring the red planet.
Through head-mounted virtual reality (VR) devices such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR or Samsung Gear VR, this technology provides an immersive and interactive opportunity for those who wish to explore it.
Your eyes are not the only sensory organ involved in the VR experience. In fact, it takes your whole body into the vivid representation of the VR which is called the virtual environment.
Your brain is stimulated by the virtual environment that invokes your body’s sensory organs, making the experience as real as possible.
Although VR was initially viewed as a game-changer for gaming industries, Multimedia University (MMU) lecturers Siti Noraishah Musa and Tan Gek Siang say it has huge potential in boosting the tourism sector.
Heritage preservation
Siti Noraishah used VR to bring to life 19 historical buildings throughout peninsular Malaysia under the “e-Warisan Senibina” programme. She worked on this project with a team of 23 researchers from various expertise led by MMU president Professor Datuk Dr Ahmad Rafi Mohamed Eshaq.
The buildings were selected based on their cultural links and historical value as Unesco World Heritage sites.
To showcase the traditional houses and places of worship in a virtual environment, plenty of detailing work was done to make the iconic buildings as realistic as possible.
“We made an extensive observation of the buildings which included conducting comprehensive studies of their history and taking photographs of the sites.
“Some of the buildings we put into our virtual environment do not exist anymore so we referred to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Centre for the Study of Built Environment in the Malay World for its original blueprints,” she said.
Noraishah said the main motivation behind the usage of VR technology was to increase awareness and preserve our heritage.
The funding for the project came via the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry under MMUcreativista Sdn Bhd (MMUCV) and details of the “e-Warisan Senibina” were chronicled in a book titled The e-Warisan Senibina Virtual Heritage.
Swipe for virtual guide
Walking around tourist hotspots in Melaka is now made easier with interactive information accessible with a touch of your finger on smart devices.
Funded by MMU’s internal research grant, Tan developed a mixed reality programme that combined the use of VR and its cousin, Augmented Reality (AR) into his project called the iMelaka 360 Project which comprised two prototypes named iMelaka 360 VR website and iMelaka 360 AR app.
The iMelaka 360 VR Website lets you prepare your sightseeing plan before setting foot in historical places, such as the Stadthuys, by navigating through 360-degree panoramic virtual tours of popular tourist sites in the Unesco World Heritage City.
Once you have arrived at the spot, the iMelaka 360 AR App acts like a personal tourist guide by scanning the surrounding real-life environment using a smartphone camera.
On their smartphone screens, tourists can view the interactive AR markers superimposed on the real environment and tap the images for descriptions of the landmark.
“Both the VR website and the AR mobile app provide comprehensive and updated tourism information for the tourists to go and enjoy the interactive travelling experience while visiting amazing historical sites in Melaka,” said Tan.
Currently, Tan and his team are developing a mobile AR application, similar to iMelaka 360 AR App called When History Comes Alive; where visitors to the Melaka Museum get to interact with the virtual replica of the artefacts without physically touching the real objects.
The project is funded by the Melaka Economic Planning Unit in collaboration with the Melaka Museum Corporation.
The team consists of MMU Entrepreneurship Development Centre director Prof Kamarulzaman Ab. Aziz, MMU Faculty of Business dean Dr Zauwiyah Ahmad and Syazmedia Resources founder Syazani Suhaifi.
Director of Institute of Visual Informatics (IVI) Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Prof Datuk Dr Halimah Badioze Zaman said the VR features are becoming more versatile and accessible these days.
“The magical thing about VR is the system replicates the real-life environment, allowing the user to get immersed inside the virtual environment,” said Halimah.
The future
The availability of VR devices goes a long way in helping people understand and appreciate history better. It also adds an interactive fun factor for tourists visiting iconic buildings and sites.
Tourism Selangor assistant corporate communication manager Zaimi Shari said VR would be the next big thing if it is properly implemented in heritage walks in Selangor such as the one in Klang.
The Royal Klang Heritage Walk, a 3km tour covering 24 famous historical buildings, is available every weekend and conducted by professional guides.
“By putting on the VR headgear, people can see the panoramic view of the historical sites and walk through as if they were there.
“The images must be realistic so people can learn the history up, close and personal,” said Zaimi.
Favourable response
Creative consultant Sarah Syafiqa Allya said the use of VR in the tourism sector would bring great benefit and excitement to the public.
“I think it is interesting to seeor experience something that you are unable to do in real life like touching one of the fragile artefacts without damaging it or walking through a historical building that does not exist anymore,” said the 26-year-old.
Sarah said the option to look into the places of attraction through the VR view would be a great idea as it offers visitors a sneak peek of the site before going in.
“There are certain areas that only allow a small group of tourists to visit at one time, so VR helps to give a general overview of the area.
“If we can walk around the virtual environment, it becomes interactive and VR gives you the feeling that you are actually there,” she added.
Looking through the glasses of a VR headgear, people with disabilities can look forward to exploring the famous places they have always wanted to visit.
Ahmad Faiz Abu Hassan, 23, was born with a condition known as Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) Type 4 that affects his body movement.
He said VR would give him the opportunity to “visit” iconic places in Malaysia.
“VR for tourism is a great concept, especially for people like me as I will be able to see places that are not disabled-friendly in a virtual environment.
“I can actually experience climbing Mount Kinabalu or ‘set foot’ at the Sungai Batu archeology site in Kedah through the VR display,” he said.
University student Lee Hui Shen, 23, said learning historical facts by engaging in virtual environment would be useful if it was properly designed and created by professionals.
“Virtual environments are meant to duplicate real-life experiences but it must be accurate, especially for famous historical sites.
“The selected tourism sites for VR must possess historical and social values and provide detailed explanation for those ‘touring’ the sites just like having a tourist guide by your side,” she added.
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