India to expand virtual tourism with 3D reproductions of Buddhist Circuit monuments

Bodh Gaya, India

Mar 10, 2017 | By Tess

India’s Science and Technology Ministry has announced a plan to reproduce monuments from the country’s Buddhist Circuit using 3D technologies. Though the ministry has not released many details about the project so far, it says it is part of the effort to virtually promote India’s architectural heritage.

The Buddhist Circuit is a transnational tourist circuit that visits many sites and monuments that are holy or significant in Buddhism. The circuit includes locations such as Bodh Gaya, Vaishali, Rajgir and Kushinagar in Bihar, Sarnath, Shravasti, as well as Kapilavastu and Lumbini in Nepal, Buddha’s homeland. The plan is to recreate the most famous monuments and architectural sites from the Buddhist Circuit using 3D technologies.

The announcement for the 3D reproductions of India’s famous Buddhist monuments was made at an Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) conference focused on artificial intelligence and robotics. According to Professor Ashutosh Sharma, secretary of the Department of Science and Technology, the idea for the project is to have people virtually visit these places, to learn about them in an interactive way while sitting in one place.

He said: “Without going for Bharat Darshan, you can sit in one place, in Delhi maybe, and visit all the monuments, get all the information about them better than a guide can tell us because of the whole force of Wikipedia is behind you in that."

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20170310-india-to-expand-virtual-tourism-with-3d-reproductions-of-buddhist-circuit-monuments.html