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01-10-1999
Ten thousand years of Greek History brought to life

The programme will ultimately enable the Centre to establish one of the largest immersive virtual reality environments in Europe, which will host some of the biggest virtual heritage projects ever developed.

The Foundation of the Hellenic World (FHW) is a non-profit cultural institution working to promote understanding of Hellenic history and culture. Founded in 1993 by Lazaros Efraimoglou, much of its work is achieved through the creative use of state-of-the-art multimedia and technology. Its aim is to promote the understanding of the past as a point of reference for the shaping of the present and future, so that modern thought may be inspired once again by the Hellenic spirit.

"Our goal at the Foundation is to create a forum for archaeologists, historians, scientists and artists to use state-of-the-art technology and resources for research into Hellenic cultural heritage," says Maria Roussou, co-ordinator of the Virtual Reality team at the Foundation. "This latest initiative represents a groundbreaking step for the cultural world; rarely does this level of technology get out of research laboratories or heavy industry. For us to bring it to a wider audience in this way will have a major impact on the future of cultural institutions around the world."

"For centuries archaeologists and historians have faced an awesome challenge," continues Afshad Mistri, Educational Entertainment Marketing Manager for SGI's Communications and Media Division. "Working from little more than the excavated ruins of ancient buildings and fragments of various artefacts, they've had to recostruct what life was like for the citizens of long-dead civilisation. Now we are equipping such researchers with a set of tools that combines the time-honoured techniques of conventional research with cutting edge 3D computer graphics.

This is literally breathing new life into ancient wolrds. What is more important is that the Foundation will be able to educate audiences of all ages with this new medium of "experiential computing". The benefits of real-time graphics is that the experience will be unique every time one visits such a facility."

SGI has been closely linked to the centre since its opening and were the natural choice to assist with the Foundation's plans for growth and expansion. The first stage of the programme is the virtual reconstruction of ancient Miletus on an ImmersaDesk [running on a Silicon Graphics© Octane© visual workstation, which opened to the public in April 1999. Full-scale 3D models of the Ionic Stoa, the Delfinion Sanctuary and the Hellenistic Gymnasium have already been completed. Visitors to the centre are guided around the 'city' [shown on the 2mx2.38m bench] wearing stereoscopic glasses, controlling their own movement and direction.

The second stage of the programme, due for completion in October 1999, will see the installation of a 3m four-surface Cave Automatic Virtual Environment [CAVE] capable of holding up to ten people [powered by Silicon Graphics© Onyx2© with four InfiniteReality2― visualisation subsystems]. This will show the whole city of ancient Miletus with the addition of more buildings thus allowing visitors to become totally immersed in their virtual environment. The CAVE is fully interactive providing individual visitors with complete freedom to control their movements and so develop a completely unique interactive experience.

The final stage of the programme is still in development and is scheduled to open at the start of the next century. The Foundation intends to take the interactive possibilities of virtual reconstruction to a radically new level with the creation of a immersive projects.

"Virtual REality is a novel and innovative tool which allows us, through its applications, to experience abstract concepts and ideas, and visit places that are unreachable or no longer exist, so that modern thought may be inspired by the spirit of the past." says Dimitris Efraimoglou, Head of the Systems and Interactive Applications Sector at the Foundation. "We knew that SGI was the only company able to supply the level of technology and support that our programme required. They worked very closely with us, in Athens, UK and the US, to determine the best solution for our needs."

For more information please visit www.fhw.gr

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