The virtual reality project is funded by the World Bank and the European Commission. The project is a collaboration between the Faculty of Engineering at Birzeit University and the Faculty of Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB). In an opening ceremony speech, Dr. Faisal Awadallah, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Birzeit University indicated his pleasure and pride in opening of the virtual reality system, which is the first of its kind in Palestine. "It will be used as a model for visualizing historical evidences of various locations, sites and landscapes in Palestine. The virtual reality theatre/lab will be used as an instructional tool for students, as well as a medium for studies, research and consultation for public and private sectors," Dr. Awadallah added.
The goal with the virtual heritage project is to develop interactive 3D models and virtual reality environments that can help increase the public awareness about hidden history of the Palestinian nation. Dr. Ramzi Hassan, Professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and former member of the Faculty of Engineering at Birzeit University, said it is important to change the mentality towards cultural heritages and landscapes as a common property of the people. "The preservation of historical places in Palestine is a national objective that unfortunately has failed to become a priority question," Dr. Hassan said.
Virtual Reality is a fast developing and rapidly used technology which has numerous applications in research, medicine, education, training, engineering modeling, science, business, and entertainment. A main benefit of this project is the installation of an immersive virtual reality environment, the EON Icube, a VR system provided by EON Reality. It will be used by Birzeit University as an experiment arena for research, development and collaboration between various disciplines, faculties and international experts. In addition, it will function as a showcase for visitors to demonstrate Birzeit research, studies and Palestinian land and culture.
For further information about Birzeit University, visit http://www.birzeit.edu/about_bzu/
For further information about EON Reality, visit www.eonreality.com.
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For more information contact: Brita Kjallstrom Email Contact (949) 460-2000 ext 224
