Through a grant from Malta Enterprise, the AuReal Project, being carried out by St. Martin’s Institute, aims to preserve our country’s cultural heritage while also revolutionising the virtual reality experience.
This was announced by the Minister for the Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects Silvio Schembri and the CEO of Malta Enterprise Kurt Farrugia during a visit to St. Martin’s Institute. This project represents a €304,000 investment in research and development.
The project’s centrepiece is the recreation of the Hypogeum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with limited public access. By combining historical research and cutting-edge VR technology, it will provide users with an unprecedented opportunity to explore this ancient site.
With the AuReal Project, St. Martin’s Institute is paving the way for a new era of immersive cultural experiences, ensuring that Malta’s heritage remains accessible and engaging for generations to come.
Minister Silvio Schembri mentioned that this project is not only connecting the past with the innovative technologies of the present, but is also connecting various entities within the Ministry, namely Malta Enterprise which with its funds was instrumental in bringing this project to life, Gaming Malta where such a project can be used in an innovative industry and the MDIA, with the opening of DiHubMT this year – a space for startups and scaleups where they find everything they need in their journey, including High performance Computer, through which research is carried out in a much shorter period.
The CEO of Malta Enterprise Kurt Farrugia explained how the economic value that is being created by Malta Enterprise’s R&D grant goes beyond the project itself. He mentioned how this project may be focused on creating VR and AI for heritage purposes, but it is also creating tools which will be used in the film industry, in gaming, in software development, pharmaceutical and medical fields among others.
The Principal of St Martin’s Institute of Higher Education, Charles Theuma, explained that they built their project on Malta’s cultural heritage, and orientated their research towards the possibility where a student lives our country’s history through virtual reality. He concluded by stating that thanks to these funds they could continue with their research and build this project.
