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Story edited by Sophie Delon

The potential uses of digital technology aren’t just limited to the audioguides that have become so popular in Paris (and around the world). A range of surprising possibilities are now available to help visitors (and even residents) rediscover Paris in all its splendor.

The Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau’s website, parisinfo.com, offers “Visit Paris at 360°,” a dynamic collection of photos that gives you the impression of taking a 3D stroll through the capital. This virtual experience is offered in partnership with Google Street View and is both fun and educational. The user can zoom in on any part of the image they want, find out where they are in Paris (thanks to a compass), and even see photos of the neighborhood taken by amateur photographers.

At the Paris Story multimedia centre, virtual technology and special effects transport visitors through three main attractions to the Paris of the past. In 1 hour and 15 minutes, “Paris Story” (available in English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Russian, Polish, Japanese, Chinese and Korean) leads the visitor through a dreamlike world as they discover the history of Paris stretching back more than 2,000 years. “Paris Miniature” lets visitors interact via touchscreens displaying maps and photos of the capital’s key sites. And “Paris Experience” offers a range of useful information about the city through multimedia terminals connected to the Internet.

All of these uses, which reflect the essence of our modern society, are perhaps preparing us for the advent of an even more advanced, or interactive, form of technology – “augmented reality”. This process consists of capturing images which are then reassembled in real time and superimposed with virtual elements, background, images and information. Unlike three-dimensional computer-generated images, in augmented reality, the virtual is no longer prearranged and instead interacts directly with the users reality to produce what looks like a fourth dimension… total immersion guaranteed!

On the terrace of the Arc de Triomphe,a virtual window has been opened onto the past this year. Combined with a 360 degree telescope system, the “augmented reality” process developed by the CITU (University cross-disciplinary interactive creation) team superimposed 3D graphics and text onto buildings, avenues and the city’s monuments. It is possible to zoom in on certain sites and automatically access a multitude of details, including dimensions, construction dates, the architect’s name and more. Each monument is instantly labelled with its name, most of which are accompanied with archive images from various periods (from the 18th and 19th centuries) to help visitors compare the view as it changes over the centuries. The installation has been such a success with the visitors that an identical device is planned for La Défense and Porte de Versailles.

For more information:

ARC DE TRIOMPHE
Place Charles-de-Gaulle, Paris 8th
Tel +33 (0)1 55 37 73 77
http://arc-de-triomphe.monuments-nationaux.fr

PARIS CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU
25 rue des Pyramides, Paris 1st
Tel +33 (0)8 92 68 30 00
www.parisinfo.com

PARIS STORY
11 bis rue Scribe, Paris 9th
Tel +33 (0)1 42 66 62 06
www.paris-story.com