Light City’s virtual reality museum explores lost artifacts from Iraq

Attendees at Labs@LightCity can pick up some of artifacts from Iraq. When you place one on the table, it falls over.
But don’t worry, nothing’s broken.
It’s part of a virtual reality exhibit that innovation conference attendees have a chance to peruse as they walk into the innovation conferences.
Case Study: A Virtual Reality Museum, located inside Columbus Center at 701 E. Pratt St., taps into work that originated with Project Mosul. The effort sought to recreate artifacts from the Mosul Museum in Iraq that were destroyed by ISIS fighters in 2015.
Inside the goggles, Fells Point-based Look On Media created an Indiana Jones-like warehouse. With a controller, the user picks up the artifact and places it on a table. Then, a voice describes the history.

#LabsAtLightCity attendees, you have to check out Case Study: A VR Museum! #InnovateHealth pic.twitter.com/yvdovnVSvw

— Labs@LightCity (@LabsAtLightCity) April 3, 2017

Adding some Baltimore history, the virtual reality studio also worked with the Frederick Douglass Isaac Meyers Maritime Park and Museum. VR visitors grab tools, and get close-ups of a ship.
Bringing some of the technology behind HoloTats into a museum setting, BalitVirtual also created an augmented reality tool that displays the artifacts on a tablet.
Look On Media’s Brian Mahoney was guiding folks on Thursday, and said the project remains in its nascency. But the public exposure at Light City is helping with development. He paid careful attention to how long this reporter spent with each artifact, and what we chose.
“It’s invaluable feedback, seeing everyone run through it,” he said.
If you want to get a taste for more Baltimore virtual reality work, head to this month’s BmoreVR Meetup on April 26 in Fells Point.