Snapchat maker Snap is teaming up with the Louvre Museum in Paris for a five-part augmented reality (AR) experience called “Egypt Augmented.
Starting Wednesday, it will include four location-based experiences based on three exhibits in the museum's Egyptian antiquities section and one in the outer courtyard, Cour Carre. Additionally, Snapchat users around the world will be able to use a free Face Glasses feature inspired by the exhibition.
By scanning a QR code with their smartphone, museum visitors can see exhibits come alive in AR before their eyes. “Dendera Zodiac” ceiling relief from 50 B.C. Featuring a Ptolemaic sky map, displayed in 3D with simple explanations of its symbols and purpose.
It represents the ancient Egyptian dynasty from 1450 BC. The interior of the tomb, the “chamber of their fathers,” which has been carved since, is painted in Technicolor. Meanwhile, the four-sided temple pink granite bas-reliefs, 550 BC. The “naos of Amasis” has been restored. Its wooden doors once opened to reveal a statue of the god Osiris.
Outside, a digital image of the statue, which was transported from Luxor, Egypt to Paris in 1836, can be seen in the center of the museum's Cor Carri where it was originally supposed to stand. After some debate, it found its home in the city's Place de la Concorde, where the real thing currently stands.
The “Egyptian Added” experience was created 200 years after archaeologist Jean-François Champollion used the famous Rosetta Stone to crack the document to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs.
The Louvre's Vincent Rondot—who heads the museum's antiquities department—spoke during a preview Tuesday. DecryptThe most important aspect is that a museum reflects the times we live in.
“Snap's AR is a great way to enhance our ability to explain what we have to offer,” he said. “We must enter the dance.”
Although the experiences are aimed at the younger demographic, he says, “they can also draw the older generation into virtual reality.”
The Louvre's decision to debut the technology through ancient Egyptian artefacts was very deliberate, he said, because alongside modern medicine and architecture, “the civilization is widely regarded as a source of technology.”
Hélène Guichard, director general of the Louvre, added, “Archaeologists are always passionate about progress, and always looking at how it can best serve our discipline and our mission to make it available to the public.”
Shortly after the discovery of X-ray technology in the late 19th century, Egyptologist Flinders Petrie described how the first radiological study was carried out on an Egyptian mummy.
The “Egypt Augmented” experience was created by Snap's Paris AR Studio, which launched 18 months ago from the city's startup campus, Station F. One of the studio's focuses is non-commercial partnerships with institutions.
According to the studio's director, Donatien Bozon, its mission is to educate and inspire the world about the true potential of AR—it can open up vast new possibilities for cultural institutions, especially in the fields of culture and the arts. “
“Our goal is to collaborate with cultural institutions and artists to change the perception of AR,” he said DecryptA show isn't just for silly things like dog ears and rainbow vomit. AR can be huge; He can tell stories and be a magician.
Last year, the Paris AR Studio created an experience to celebrate an exhibition by Christian Marclay at the Pompidou Center in Paris, turning the building's 137.7-foot façade into an AR musical instrument. Visitors can tap different points on their smartphone screens to trigger different sounds.
Earlier this year, Snap partnered with electronic music icons Daft Punk on AR experiences, allowing fans to discover a hidden track alongside AR treasure hunts and billboards.
Visitors will have access to the Louvre's “Egyptian Augmented” experience until fall 2024.
