Samsung partners with UNESCO for 360-degree videos of Konark Sun Temple

Bhubaneswar: Samsung India has entered into a partnership with UNESCO MGIEP (Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development) to launch 360 video and Virtual Reality (VR) content of two magnificent Indian heritage sites, the Sun Temple in Konark, Odisha and Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.

The first of the two 360 videos and VR content, on the Sun Temple in Konark, was unveiled at the Transforming Education Conference for Humanity (TECH) 2017 in Visakhapatnam, organized by UNESCO MGIEP.

The 360 video and VR content showcasing the grandeur, heritage and splendour of the architectural marvel Sun Temple in Konark was shown to students and dignitaries at a specially set up Samsung Smart Class at the conference venue.

The project will provide experiential educational content to students across the country. The immersive content will also be available to students at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), where Samsung Smart Class have been set up in over 500 schools since 2013. This effort to use VR for educating students will go a long way in taking forward Government of India’s vision of digital India.

There are 36 UNESCO Heritage Sites in India today. Samsung India may take up more sites to develop 360 videos and VR content in future.

The content on Indian heritage sites will be available freely across all social media channels in both 360 and VR formats. VR content will also be provided to the Union Ministry of Tourism and State Tourism Boards to be used for tourism promotion in India and across the world.