You can now fix this travel error during the time too pandemic. With the help of the Peterborough-based virtual reality company AVRODallows you to visit historical centers around the globe without leaving your home.
“We have 40 locations around the world, including some here in Canada,” said founder Jeremy Brooks.
“You can explore places from almost 20 countries. We have Teotihuacan in Mexico, the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. The Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Colosseum, we have a T-Rex skeleton, a pillbox bunker from WWII and things like that to jump around and explore. “
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AVROD is the abbreviation for Archaeological Virtual Reality Online Database. Brooks began developing the platform while studying archeology at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario to remotely explore archaeological sites. Now the team is hoping to connect people to history, preserve and expand the past to fill the travel and tourism void created by COVID-19 restrictions.
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“We really want to put it in a space where people are in their homes, but we are really feeling impressed with the history and archeology that exists in the world and showing people that there is still a pandemic now is accessible, ”said Brooks.
The virtual sites are created using images taken from the real location. This series of photos is converted into a 3D replica. To visit the virtual locations, you will need a VR headset, streaming app and an internet connection.
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Brooks said AVROD will be launched soon for the Oculus Store and for Oculus Quest VR headsets.
These days, one of these standalone headsets will bring you back around $ 400. The cost of your “virtual ticket” to the Oval Office, an archaeological site in Mongolia, or maybe the Cave of Hands in Argentina.
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“You can stand there, holding your hand against the prehistory handprints against that wall, and even feel a connection with these people,” Brooks said.
He said that they are working to achieve this connection in other ways as well.
“We’re creating a platform where people can interact with each other, exchange ideas, look at an object and make a comment in three-dimensional space, which has never happened before,” he said.
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With technology taking you around the world, AVROD is based in Peterborough, Ont. The platform was developed in The Innovation Cluster, a startup incubator with a virtual reality maker area.
Michael Skinner, CEO of the innovation cluster, said he thinks online platforms will grow significantly.
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“Because of the pandemic, I think we’re going to see a lot more virtual reality,” he said. “The pandemic has definitely put a lot more focus on it and at the end of the day a lot of people are sitting at home unable to travel and I think they are looking for something else and virtual reality could be a key element for that.”
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Skinner said the resources available in the innovation cluster will matter to entrepreneurs looking to break into this market.
“It allows developers to test their program on a number of different platforms without that significant upfront investment,” he said.
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Brooks said that along with the historic sites and tourist potential, they also applied the technology to create grooming simulations for Trent University, using VR to create lifelike exercise scenarios.
He said they had other ideas in the works, but he couldn’t reveal the details just yet.
“What I can say is that we are constantly expanding to new destinations,” he said. “These technologies exist, the platforms exist, and now it’s just our job to bring them to Canadians and people around the world so they can explore the world from home.”
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