Customer' background

The Association of cities-heirs of Byzantium (ACEB) unites small and large cities of Russia and Italy where the Byzantine culture left a mark. The community strengthens cultural ties between European and Russian cities.

Task

To develop a client-server mobile app, an interactive virtual AR museum in three languages. In the app the user can get acquainted with monuments of world significance using AR technologies.

To create a web interface where the customer can add and edit models, texts, audio guides in three languages, images, 360° panoramas and videos as youtube links without the participation of developers.

To write a server solution for secure content storage, fast synchronization with the client app, and web interface.

Solution

We have developed an AR mobile app «MuByz». The best designers have been working on the interface. They have created more than 30 screens of the app in Byzantine style.

All text content has been translated into three languages – English, Russian, and Italian. All data, including models, audio tracks, photos, and texts are stored on the server, uploading the information to the device in time.

Working on project was very hard. To create an interactive virtual museum we have developed 3D models of more than 40 objects of the Byzantine architectural heritage in Russian and Italian cities such as Rome, Palermo, Monreale, Cefalu, Calabria, Borgia, Veliky Novgorod, etc.

Ariseum has made 3D models of buildings: the Arc de Triomphe, the Milvian bridge and the Mausoleum of Constantina in Rome, the castle of Dziza and the Palatine Chapel in Palermo, the Cathedral in Cefalu, the Church of St. Mark in Rossano, the Church of the assumption on the Volotovo field and St. Sophia Cathedral in Veliky Novgorod, the Jesuit Church in Venice.

We have analyzed a huge amount of data – photographs, drawings. We have consulted with historians and architects, so as not to miss a single small detail, including the barely noticeable cracks on the facade of the building. All virtual buildings are as similar as possible to real objects.

The Ariseum team has developed many features from push notifications to in-app purchases, also a web-constructor where the customer can upload models or other content to the server and write descriptions in three languages.

One of the most sophisticated stages in project work was writing a system that allows adding information bars to models. The description should opens directly on the specific part of the model. On the server the customer places a point on the desired part of the uploaded model, and then a text input field appears. The customer fills in a text description of the selected part in three languages and saves the information on the server. After a few seconds in the app the user sees the updated icon on the model, clicks on it, and learns new details.

The same thing happens with other app content. As soon as the administrator adds an audio track or a 360° panorama, they immediately appear in the app after saving.

How it works

The user downloads the app from Appstore or Play market. The main menu of the app opens. In the «Treasures» you can find the list of objects of the Byzantine heritage with a brief description, clicking on an object the visitor receives a detailed information.

The user points the device at the marker (markers are in albums and information booklets of ACEB exhibitions), then a 3D model of the building appears and spins around its axis. The 3D model is also available – it shows the model on the device screen without a marker.

The user reads a small text about the history of the object, what features it inherited from the Byzantine Empire, clicks on the icons located on the monument, then opens a text description of architectural features, bright ancient elements.

Also 5 details of the object are mentioned with a detailed description of their location and interior details – icons, frescoes, etc. In addition to reading the user can listen to the audio while viewing the model.

The section «Movies» section contains videos created by ACEB itself. They have been uploaded from YouTube.

In the section «Routes» you can see buildings of Byzantine architecture that are united by an event of a particular historical period or an individual.

The section «Cities of ACEB» lists all the cities of Russia and Italy that are part of the Association, its main Byzantine monuments and museums.

The section «Exhibitions» contains announcements of upcoming ACEB events.

Equipment

Mobile devices based on the operating systems iOS 10.0 or higher, and Android 6.0 or higher

Result

This is the one of the most ambitious and time-consuming apps that the Ariseum team has ever created. We have made a cultural and educational app for people of different ages, travel lovers, and those who are passionate about history and monuments of world architecture. The app will also be useful for residents of cities where ancient buildings are located.

For users the app has become not only a museum, but a library of models of the Byzantine heritage which are accompanied by a detailed professional story about architecture.

The «MuByz» virtual museum has collected more than 40 of the most important works of Byzantine architecture in its 3D collection. The 3D collection includes masterpieces of the Byzantine era in more than dozen Rissian and Italian cities, works that significantly impacted on Christian art.

The mobile app has been approved by many EU countries. Mayors of different cities from Novgorod to Rome thanks for the accurate reconstruction of architectural monuments.

For Ariseum «MuByz» became the first complex platform with a remote constructor, where the customer can edit texts, add models, descriptions of architectural structures in 3 different languages, photos, audio tracks and 360° panoramas without our participation.