It is not a play on words. It is the reality, although virtual, that can already be observed and ‘lived’ in various settings, such as the Roman theater in Mérida, Cartago Nova in Cartagena, Tarraco in Tarragona or the Roman town of Cambrils-La Llosa. At these sites, users can see through Oculus Go VR glasses what life was like in the years they were built. Or as its creators say, “enter the past and live history through virtual reality.”
Imageen, which is also thinking of using artificial intelligence (AI) to guide customers in the different scenarios with recommendation and prediction systems in the near future, was born just four years ago from the concern of the three founders of the company , Víctor de la Vega, José Antonio Muñiz and Andrés Serrano. All were in 2014 in an archaeological site that they did not understand its magnitude, and they wanted to imagine themselves there but several hundred years ago. They thought that with VR glasses it would be possible to contemplate the splendor of that place. And they got to work.
The great cities decay with the centuries, the temples and the palaces collapse, and the meteorological changes end up corroding the stones of the great Roman theaters. The walls, the columns and the ruins of the amphitheaters are hidden between the new buildings of the big and small cities. Imageen has achieved, with its virtual recreations, that visitors to the Roman theater of Mérida, or to Tarraco or Cartago Nova, can immerse themselves in the walled cities, medieval castles or temples, and live an immersive and face-to-face experience as if they were in the same time.
For virtual recreations Imageen has developed 3D models through the historical, archaeological and artistic understanding of each place. Measurements for modeling are captured planimetrically and made to scale so that understanding in situ is perfect. And to make the experience even more real, virtual reality is mixed with augmented reality (AR). The scenes are recorded on a chroma background with real characters, which in turn complement the 3D and 360 computer-generated models.
Imageen projects can be enjoyed, in addition to on-site with the Oculus Go, through smart devices or Smartphone and tablets. To do this, the user must download the Imageen application, available for both Apple and Android users. In the app, the projects of Tarraco, Cambrils and L’Espluga de Francoli are available, and with it you can see the virtual reconstruction of the buildings and architectural monuments, and their current state combined with the virtual view of them.
