The Paphos pilot (led by CUT) is about visiting a monastery in a cave in the surroundings of Paphos (Cyprus), and being able to virtually meet avatars of the monks who lived there, ask them predefined questions and hear their stories with headset. The pilot seeks to provide an alternative to the physical experience of visiting the Enkleistra – should it be necessary to close the monument to the public for repairs, conservation, protection or safety – and to provide access to those who may not be able to physically access the space due to distance or physical constraints.
The hermitage of St. Neophytos, known as his Enkleistra, is a small but extremely significant Byzantine monument associated with the Monastery of St. Neophytos in Tala (Cyprus). Initially a cave that was located by St. Neophytos in 1159 and later turned into the place where he spent the rest of his life, the monument consists of three interconnected chambers, hand-cut into a sheer limestone cliff over a period of four decades. St. Neophytos lived in the Enkleistra as a hermit and left a vast theological and cultural imprint on the history of his homeland and the Orthodox world at large.
The aim of this pilot was to produce a faithful digital representation of the Enkleistra based on previous and ongoing research to allow the primary stakeholder (the Monastery of Saint Neophytos) to tell the story of the Saint’s life and times through a digital avatar of the saint, who will appear in 3D and explains his story to the visitor. Two versions of the scenario were envisioned, one being a Mixed Reality version on site and the other as a purely virtual experience to be distributed in schools. Find below the 3D digitised Enkleistra, and the two avatars of Saint Nephytos and the one of a rigged monk (please allow a few seconds for the content to load):
Such achievements were possible thtough the Avatar Builder tool, provided by MIRALab as open access documentation and guidance. The tool is a workflow and pipeline for creating animatable virtual characters that can be embedded in XR experiences, as displayed within the pilot through the creation of the two avatars.