Last month VRFocus reported on the BBC announcing its first ever augmented reality (AR) app for mobile devices, Civilisations AR. Developed by BBC Research & Development, BBC Arts and Nexus Studios the app has launched today for iOS and Android.
Developed as part of a major collaboration between the BBC and more than 30 museums and galleries as part of the Civilisations Festival, Civilisations AR features over 30 artefacts from museums across the UK that have been digitally scanned and are now available to view in 3D.
Exhibits include a fourteenth century Italian sculpture of Madonna and Child from the National Museum of Scotland, Turner’s painting Bridge over the Moselle from the Oldham Museum and Art Gallery, an ancient Egyptian mummy from the Torquay Museum and the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum.
The app marks the launch of new arts and culture series, Civilisations, which begins on BBC Two tonight, with the full series due to be available on BBC iPlayer. The series follows presenters Simon Schama, Mary Beard and David Olusoga as they travel far and wide across six continents to find answers to fundamental questions about human creativity.
“We’re thrilled to have started our augmented reality journey with Civilisations AR,” said Eleni Sharp, executive product manager for BBC R&D in a statement. “The app enables users to explore an amazing range of exhibits, while enabling the BBC R&D team to experiment with a new technology and test how a new format can complement a linear show. However, this is just the first outing for the app. We’ve designed and built it to be a totally reusable product, and we will be looking to use develop more AR projects in the future once we have had the chance to analyse the data from this one.”
Check out the full list of exhibits included in Civilisations AR below. While this might be the first AR app from the BBC, the broadcaster is well versed in virtual reality (VR), creating apps like Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel, The Turning Forest, and a Doctor Who experience. For any further BBC VR or AR updates, keep reading VRFocus.
| Artefact | Museum | Location Origin | Year |
| The Clonmore Shrine
|
Ulster Museum, Belfast | United Kingdom | 650 |
| Tea Pot
|
Ulster Museum, Belfast | United Kingdom | 1808 |
| Carved Ivory Salt Cellar
|
National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh | Nigeria | 1550 |
| Madonna and Child
|
National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh | Italy | 1350 |
| The Kiss by Rodin
|
National Museum Wales, Cardiff | France | 1898 |
| Crested Firedog
|
National Museum Wales, Cardiff | United Kingdom | 50 |
| Hippo Bowl
|
Manchester Museum, Manchester | Egypt | 3500 BCE |
| Sundial from first railway station
|
Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester | United Kingdom | 1830 |
| Bridge over the Ticino by Turner
|
Gallery Oldham, Oldham | Switzerland | 1842 |
| Tang Dynasty Horse
|
Gallery Oldham, Oldham | China | |
| Ebenezer Elliot bust
|
Barnsley Museum, Barnsley | United Kingdom | 1800 |
| Zeus Ammon
|
World Museum, Liverpool | Egypt | 100 |
| Statuette of Horus the Child
|
World Museum, Liverpool | Egypt | 300 BCE |
| Lady Emma Hamilton as a Bacchante by Vigée-Le Brun
|
Lady Lever Art Gallery, Wirral | United Kingdom | 1782 |
| Gandahar Sculpture
|
Oriental Museum, Durham | Pakistan | 200 |
| Roman Statue of Mars
|
The Yorkshire Museum, York | United Kingdom | |
| Open Work Head by Moore
|
The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield | United Kingdom | 1936 |
| Reclining Figure by Moore
|
The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield | United Kingdom | 1934 |
| Mother & Child by Hepworth
|
The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield | United Kingdom | 1963 |
| Christ Washing Disciple’s Feet by Tintoretto
|
Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead | Italy | 1547 |
| Ogoni Mask
|
Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Derby | Nigeria | 1900 |
| Oak Samson Statue
|
Norfolk Museum, Norwich | United Kingdom | c.1600 |
| Corinthian Helmet
|
Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter | Greece | 1000 BCE |
| Gelede Mask
|
Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter | Nigeria | 1850 |
| Peruvian Stirrup Stout Pot
|
Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter | Peru | 1450 |
| Roundway Beaker
|
Wiltshire Museum, Wiltshire | United Kingdom | 2000 BCE |
| Divination Bowl
|
Bristol Museum, Bristol | Nigeria | c.1860 |
| Corinium Cockeral
|
Corinium Museum, Cirencester | United Kingdom | 150 |
| Mummy in Egyptian Coffin
|
Torquay Museum, Torquay | Egypt | |
| The Rosetta Stone
|
The British Museum, London | Egypt | 196 BCE |
| Roman Hunter God
|
Cumming Museum, London | United Kingdom | 150 |
| Gold Trophy Head
|
The Wallace Collection, London | Ghana | 1850 |
| The Blood of the Redeemer by Bellini
|
National Gallery, London | Italy | c.1460 |
| Japanese Gun Powder Flask
|
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford | Japan | 1640 |
| Octopus Storage Jar
|
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford | Greece | 1400 BCE |
| Reliquary Casket of St Thomas Beckett
|
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford | France | 1200 |
| Red Figure Neck Amphora
|
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge | Greece | 470 BCE |
| Iznik Jug
|
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge | Turkey | 1592 |
| Māori ‘God Stick’ Tiki Wanaga
|
Colchester and Ipswich Museums, Colchester | New Zealand | |
| Titus Flavius Demetrius
|
Colchester and Ipswich Museums, Colchester | Egypt | |
| Native American Mask
|
Colchester and Ipswich Museums, Colchester | USA |