SKT to take visitors back 600 years in time with Changdeokgung AR tour

SK Telecom on Monday unveiled an augmented reality-powered application designed to let visitors experience life in Seoul’s Changdeokgung 600 years ago.

Changdeokgung, built in 1405 as one of the Joseon era’s main royal residences, is listed among UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.

According to SKT, visitors to the royal palace can download the mobile application ARirang and use it as a virtual tour guide starting Tuesday.

The mobile carrier said it created the AR content in collaboration with Nexus Studio and Seerslab using Google’s cloud-based AR platform ARCore. Visitors using the application, based on both AR and virtual reality technologies, can watch real-time performances of a royal dance and look into indoor spaces of secured areas.

SKT said it has set up 5G base stations at 12 locations throughout the palace. The stations that are equipped with mobile edge computing technology allow users to download AR contents with ultralow latency.

“It is meaningful to collaborate with Google and the Cultural Heritage Administration to introduce this service amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” an SKT official said.

Meanwhile, the telecom firm plans to introduce another app in August, which will provide virtual tour guides to those who are unable to visit the site due to travel restrictions.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)