Virtual reality unplugged: revisiting 19th-century panoramas with modern techniques

Abstract

This article describes the conception and construction of an immersive analogue display case that shows a panoramic view of the interior of the dome of the Church of the Escuelas P & iacute;as in Valencia. This display stand was created for the exhibition entitled Cer & aacute;mica y Arquitectura: la c & uacute;pula de las Escuelas P & iacute;as de Valencia, which focuses on the restoration process of the dome, held at the National Museum of Ceramics in Valencia (Palacio del Marqu & eacute;s de Dos Aguas). The analogue display case does not use screens or digital media. It consists of a cylindrical structure with a conical roof, which recreates the idea of 19th-century panoramas. The viewer must stand in the centre to feel immersed in the church space, which is printed on canvas that adapts to the shape of the structure. The images printed on the canvas are achieved by projective transformations of a spherical photographic panorama of the interior of the church. From a geometric point of view, obtaining the development of the image on the conical surface is especially interesting, for which a specific algorithm has been developed.