SK Telecom on Monday announced that it completed a system application design with the use of augmented reality (AR) tour to enable visitors to experience life almost 600 years ago during the time of the Joseon Dynasty in Changdeokgung Palace, Central Seoul. Guests would experience the site as it existed before.
The Changdeok Palace, built-in 1405 and considered one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites in 1997, housed one of the principal royal residences during the Joseon Dynasty, which thrived 600 years ago. It accommodated many kings of the Joseon dynasty and the most well preserved of the five royal Joseon palaces.
5G-Powered AR Technology
SK Telecom stated that it would digitally reconstruct the royal palace with 5G AR technology with the Cultural Heritage Administration and Google Korea.
Launched on Tuesday, guests arriving at the royal palace in Central Seoul could appreciate the palace as if transported back during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) through its AR app, which serves as a virtual tour guide.
The company made the AR content through Google’s cloud AR platform ARCore in partnership with Seerslab and Nexus Studio.
Guests can view a royal dance’s instantaneous performance and look inside secured places within the palace. They can also take photographs with Joseon royalties, shoot virtual bows, and fly virtual kites.
SK Telecom established 5G stations located in 12 sites all over the palace and fitted out with mobile edge computing technology allowing ultra-low latency when downloading AR contents.
In August, the company would introduce another app that would give offsite access to a virtual tour of the palace due to travel limitations brought by the COVID-19. The palace has just been reopened last week because of the pandemic.
The grand Joseon Dynasty structures underwent digital makeovers before. The Seoul Metropolitan Government virtually restored one of the four main old gates of the Joseon capital demolished during Japan’s colonial regime.
