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Google and Palace of Versailles launch VR castle tour experience
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The Hall of Mirrors (Galerie des Glaces) of the Royal Palace of Versailles (Shutterstock/Birute Vijeikiene)
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n partnership with the Palace of Versailles, Google Arts and Culture has created a VR application for virtual reality headsets that lets users take a tour through the once royal residency.
On Sept 30, the President of the Palace of Versailles announced in an official Google blog post that it has partnered with Google Arts and Culture to create and launch VersaillesVR, an app for virtual reality headsets (specifically the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Valve Index) that lets anyone visit the castle that was once the dwelling of French royalty.
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In virtual reality, users can visit the Royal Grand Apartments, the Chapel, and the Opera which were digitally recreated using photogrammetry, "a technology that reconstructs three-dimensional models of objects and landmarks from two-dimensional photographs".
In addition to visiting the luxurious chambers in VR, users can view hundreds of artworks in high definition, including those of the royal families as well as explore 3D models of objects like Marie Antoinette's jewelry cabinet or the King's Bed online. Though the Hall of Mirrors is not part of the simulation app, users can visit it and a handful of additional rooms in 3D via online exhibitions.
VersaillesVR is available in English, French, and simplified Chinese as of Sept 30.
