PRESERVING CRAFTSMANSHIP MEMORIES WITH VIRTUAL REALITY: “AMICA” PROJECT PRESENTATION IN ROME FOR “ART AND CRAFT WORKS”
AMICA, the project by the Institute TeCIP - Perceptual Robotics Laboratory of Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, funded by TIM Foundation in the framework of the call “Invisible Assets, Places and Mastery of Artisan Tradition”, will be presented in Rome on September 27 on the occasion of the conference “Mestieri d'Arte, the origins and the future in Italy”. The event will gather the eight winning projects of the call, launched by TIM Foundation in 2013 with a total contribution of 1.5 million euro, to support initiatives aimed at recovering and preserving an "invisible cultural heritage".
Craft works evolved through thousands of years; they were always perceived as populations’ pride, cultural symbol and historic heritage, but today are at risk of being lost forever. As a sort of modern-day “David versus Goliath” story, AMICA project has designed a bridge between arts and technology, to preserve and transmit artisanal knowledge, creating a platform for digital tools based on virtual reality technologies.
The system designed in cooperation with Grafica d'Arte 2RC International Center, allows the users through innovative and restorative procedures to combine artisanal craft and the most innovative technology for digitalization, also to hand down to future generations the etching and engraving techniques.
The artisan workshop was therefore meticulously recreated; with the use of innovative immersive visualization tools, you can immerse in a physical and emotional way in the virtual knowledge path designed to live in three-dimensional environment, from different points of view, including "the artisan way". Students of the master course in techniques and management of artworks printing and publishing "2RCGAMC" in Viareggio, students of the art school "Bianciardi" in Grosseto and students of the art school "Russoli" in Pisa, contributed to the creation and testing of the platform for communication, dissemination, training and teaching. The project, during construction and operational phase, involved about 2,500 people, including 600 students of primary and secondary schools.
The TIM Foundation, expresses the Telecom Italian Group social commitment; its mission is to promote a culture of change and digital innovation, fostering the integration, the communication and economic and social growth.
