Cabinet Project contributes to new BBC Augmented Reality App

Researchers from the Cabinet project, led by OII Research Fellow Dr Kathryn Eccles and supported by Research Assistant Jamie Cameron, have worked with Deputy Head of Education Helen Ward, curators and study room assistants at the Ashmolean Museum to contribute 3D content to a new Augmented Reality (AR) app to accompany the BBC’s new Civilisations series.

The app, which allows users to view virtual 3D models of museum objects through their mobile devices, is being released on iOS and Android to coincide with the first episode of the programme, which airs on BBC2 at 9pm on 1^st March 2018. Among these items are objects currently on display in the Ashmolean, which have been recorded using a technique known as photogrammetry.

You can download the app here.

The 3D digitisation of museum objects such as these is a major feature of the Cabinet project’s work. Since 2015, the OII has been collaborating with the University’s museums, academic departments and IT Services to develop an online platform designed to encourage use of museum collections in teaching. The result, Cabinet, is being adopted into teaching across the University, and received an OxTALENT Award in 2017.

Cabinet has been supported by the IT Innovation Seed Fund, the van Houten Fund and the GLAM Digital Strategy.