27 October is World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. Audiovisual archives tell us stories about people’s lives and cultures. More importantly, it conserves our heritage and ensures it remains accessible to the public and future generations.
With today’s modern advancements, University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM), Faculty of Science and Engineering, Associate Dean, Dr Marina Ng, holds the belief that technology and heritage can have a symbiotic relationship. To show how technology as an immersive tool can help to bridge our past, present, and future, Dr Marina’s team of Mixed Reality Lab researchers and collaborators recently demonstrated the potential of cutting-edge technology in preserving Malaysia’s cultural heritage.
The effort was part of a community-driven exhibition called the Heritage Trades of Melaka organised in collaboration with The Bendahari, a creative heritage education hub in Melaka.
Seniors And Youth Value Digital Experience Of Heritage
Retiree, Colin Goh, shared, “It’s an excellent exercise. I think it (the exhibition) is something quite exciting for the locals. It’s about time we have something to highlight the heritage and trades and also problems faced in maintaining them.”
Commending the exhibition’s integration of digital technology, 77-year-old retiree said, “It’s a bit sad that people don’t read so much these days. There’s a whole wealth in books and magazines but everyone is on their phone, or laptop. It is good to see that it (Melaka’s cultural heritage) is being collated, to be retained for the future.”
“Using the technology of auto-3D model scanning app to preserve everything in a cloud drive instead of recording it on paper means that it can last forever and can be passed on,” said Tom Tai, a-37-year-old Malacca native.
Inspiring A Generation Of Interdisciplinary Talent
UNM Student and exhibition volunteer, Keiran Zoe, felt the experience helped her learn more about the culture and heritage trades in Melaka. Her role as the exhibition tour guide led her to read up a lot of extra information on the different exhibits. “The technology was a good immersive way to retain knowledge as it was easy to understand and remember,” explained the 20-year-old pharmacy student.
Fellow volunteer and Bachelor student in Nutrition, Low Hong Yee, learnt how to use the Manek App, powered by 3D reconstruction system, Omnicapture and OmniAR. “I was able to view the models in 3D and show it to my family and friends. The power of AI and AR enabled me to share my creativity, and others could do so as well,” the 20-year-old explained.
Melissa Chan, steward of The Bendahari and project manager said, “I am thankful for this opportunity to highlight some examples of everyday heritage trades of Melaka through an exhibition so that Melakans, especially the younger generation, will not forget them. Hopefully, the exhibition will also be able to create interest in these trades with the younger generation to inspire them to be part of revitalising or exploring potential careers in them in the long-term.’
The application of immersive technologies at the Heritage Trades of Melaka Exhibition enabled a digital 3D documentation of heirloom ‘manek’ or bead art with oral stories for visitors to experience through interactive exhibits such as ‘Preserving the Art of Manek’. Visitors were able to ‘try on’ the 3D reconstructed manek shoes using augmented reality (AR) and imagine new possibilities for the manek pieces using artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
Another interactive exhibit, The Museum of False Teeth Escape Room, sent visitors on a hunt for clues with their mobile devices and scanning clues using an RFID reader to learn more about the steps that Lee Laboratories, a denture-making laboratory that had operated over 70 years, used to make dentures.
Meanwhile, ‘The Music of Keroncong’ exhibit involved an interactive ‘keroncong’ band which offered visitors a chance to learn about the different instruments used to produce the traditional folk music. Powered by the ChatGPT tool, ‘A Reflection Story Generator’ saw visitors effortlessly generating a digital souvenir of their experience by merely providing an input of keywords about their experience at the exhibition.
Grounded in the field of Human-Computer Interaction, the lab’s research efforts combine an interdisciplinary approach (linking the Social Sciences and Humanities) with an intra-disciplinary approach (with areas such as Ubiquitous Computing, AI, Machine Learning and Computer Vision) to develop novel digital technologies and understand them when applied in the real world.
The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage serves as an opportunity for UNESCO Member States to evaluate their performance with respect to implementing the 2015 Recommendation Concerning the Preservation of, and Access to, Documentary Heritage, Including in Digital Form. Malaysia, a UNESCO member since 1958, is a melting pot of invaluable cultural gems worth preserving.
For media enquiries please contact: Sarah Soo, Head of Communications, University of Nottingham Malaysia at Sarah.Soo@nottingham.edu.my
About University of Nottingham Malaysia
The University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM) offers a distinctly British education in an Asian setting with a legacy as the first overseas campus of a UK university to be established globally. UNM is recognised for its excellence in teaching and learning, as well as the outstanding student experience offered on its 48-hectare campus just an hour south of the KL city-centre. UNM’s extensive and diverse research community develops solutions that tackle key global challenges in the areas of food, health, the environment, sustainability, and socio-economic issues within the ASEAN region. The University of Nottingham is ranked Top 100 in the QS World University Rankings 2024 and is rated 5 Star (Excellent) in the SETARA rating system by the Government of Malaysia. Established in 2000, UNM has about 4,500 students from over 75 countries with 15,000 alumni working with the world’s top 100 global brands.