Exploring heritage sites in 3D

With the recent launch of the iPhone 4S and reports that Apple have bought 3D mapping company, C3 Technologies, it is thought that the future of iOS Maps are likely to include a third-dimension. Now for the non-technical heads out there this means in the future maps on iPhone handsets are likely to be in 3D, transforming Apple’s basic Google Maps into something much more powerful, fun and engaging. If these reports are true then what does this mean for Google and how can heritage sites use this technology to engage a wider audience?

The concept of exploring heritage sites from your computer or iPhone is not revolutionary; Google Maps has already developed Street View to explore places around the world including cultural sites from UNESCO’s World Heritage List. However Google Street View is limited by the images and data the vans can capture from the road. In comparison, the system developed by C3 Technologies uses aircrafts and declassified missile math to generate very accurate 3D models of the terrain and buildings, making Google Street View look like child’s play.

How does the technology work?

SAAB, partially a former owner of C3 Technologies has a video that explains how the technology actually works:

It’s hard to say how impressive these results are or how they will transform navigation on the iOS devices – you’ll have to watch the videos to see. Below is a demonstration of the photo-realistic maps running on an iPad. The user can pan infinitely around the model of London created in real-time with 10 centimetre accuracy. With all the cleverness done on C3’s servers the imagery can be streamed live to mobile devices – no special hardware is required.

Apple could potentially generate maps of everywhere in the world, including heritage sites, at a level of detail that has not been seen before. Current technologies available show that there’s plenty of scope for innovation to take digital navigation to the next level – particularly when it comes to relating reality to digital data, and in terms of cleverly visualising it all. Perhaps In the future heritage sites will use 3D maps on iPhones and iPads linked with social networks to transform the way we explore our heritage sites and engage with wider audiences.

With thanks to: Fast Company and 9to5mac.com

Becky Horsfall