A Pipeline for the Implementation of Immersive Experience in Cultural Heritage Sites in Sicily

Abstract

Modern digital technologies allow potentially to explore Cultural Heritage sites in immersive virtual environments. This is surely an advantage for the users that can better experiment and understand a specific site, also before a real visit. This specific approach has gained increasing attention during the extreme conditions of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. In this work, we present the processes that lead to the implementation of an immersive app for different kinds of low and high cost devices, which have been attained in the context of the 3dLab-Sicilia project. 3dLab-Sicilia’s main objective is to sponsor the creation, development, and validation of a sustainable infrastructure that interconnects three main Sicilian centres specialized in augmented and virtual reality. The project gives great importance to the cultural heritage, as well as to the tourism-related areas. Despite the presentation of the case study of the Santa Maria La Vetere church, the process of the final app implementation guided by the general pipeline here presented is general and can be applied to other cultural heritage sites.