A 'Virtual Twin' brings the visitor closer to the Paleolithic art of the Cave of Lascaux

Dassault Systèmes, the Cité de l'architecture & du patrimoine and DRAC Nouvelle-Aquitaine have launched the 'Virtual Twin' experience of the Lascaux Cave, that recreates the conditions of immersion in the galleries as experienced by conservators and scientists upon entering them.

The Multi-Person Virtual Twin at Scale 1/1 Allows you to reproduce an exploratory and immersive experience, as well as discovering new points of view, being as close as possible to the Upper Palaeolithic masterpieces found in the Lascaux Cave. It allows the public to enjoy masterpieces painted a few years ago. 20.000 years.

Discovered in September 1940, the cave is so famous in the world both for the exceptional quality of its parietal art and for the fragility and complexity of its conservation..

Multi-person virtual reality at scale 1/1 allows you to reproduce a unique experience of exploration and immersion, as well as discovering new points of view, being as close as possible to the masterpieces of the Upper Paleolithic.

Dassault Systèmes, the Cité de l'architecture & du patrimoine (the Museum of Monuments of France) and the Direction régionale des Affaires Culturelles de Nouvelle-Aquitaine (the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs of the Nouvelle Aquitaine region in France, or DRAC Nouvelle Aquitaine) They have launched a new virtual reality experience at scale 1/1. With great realism, the virtual twin of the Lascaux cave recreates the diving conditions in the galleries of the original cave, as experienced by heritage curators and scientists allowed to enter them.

Discovered in September 1940 and classified as a historical monument three months later, The Lascaux cave is as famous in the world for the quality of its parietal art as for the fragility and complexity of its conservation.

Permanently closed to the public from 1963, the Lascaux cave has been the subject of several digitization campaigns carried out by the DRAC Nouvelle Aquitaine as part of its missions to preserve and conserve this masterpiece, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

Since the time allowed inside the cave, that is still in danger, It's limited (less than 200 hours per year for the teams that work there), Creating your virtual twin offers new approaches that are difficult to apply in the real world. Multi-person virtual reality at scale 1/1 allows you to reproduce a unique experience of exploration and immersion, as well as discovering new points of view, being as close as possible to the Upper Paleolithic masterpieces painted makes 20.000 years.

Lascaux Cave 1/1

The cave of Lascaux 1/1, the virtual twin, is designed with new tools researched and developed by Dassault Systèmes with Exaltemps, the research and innovation laboratory of the Cité de l’architecture & du patrimoine. This new software aims to facilitate the creation of life-size and multi-person virtual reality experiences by users without specific technical knowledge..

For Dassault Systèmes, The challenge was to imagine and develop immersive, collaborative tools that would be even easier to use. The only skill required is to use your hands intuitively, No need for a controller, What do we do in the real world to stage a life-size narrative that we can physically step into?. These creative tools open up a new way of understanding cultural sites in the world of education, research and, Of course, further”, explains Mehdi Tayoubi, Vice President of Innovation, Dassault Systèmes.

By integrating raw data from DRAC Nouvelle Aquitaine's digitization campaigns into these tools, the three partners were able to collaborate virtually in 3D and design several immersive visit routes.

“We have very accurate 3D scan data of the cave that we are used to seeing on our screens, but being able to immerse ourselves in this virtual twin changes this perspective.. The time we spend inside Lascaux, That is still in danger, It's very limited. For the first time I can teleport there with all my equipment, where we can work and test research hypotheses in real-time, even in the hardest-to-reach areas”, says Muriel Mauriac, Conservator of the Lascaux cave.

Like the conservation team that has access to the original cave, Visitors immersed in the Virtual Twin will be able to navigate the terminal passage at the end of the axial diverticulum or even walk through the narrow chamber of the felines, that has never been presented to the public.

“This collaboration with Exaltemps and Dassault Systèmes carries the collection of the Gallery of Decals of the Cité de l'architecture & du patrimoine to the 21st century. From plaster to virtual reality, fits the vision of Eugène Viollet-Le-Duc, who initiated the use of life-size molds from our heritage as a means of teaching, investigate, Remembering and informing”, adds Isabelle Marquette, curator of the Gallery of Yesos de la Cité de l’architecture & du patrimoine.

Virtual Experience

in 2019, the Cité de l’architecture & du patrimoine and Dassault Systèmes inaugurated a space for research and innovation, Exaltemps, dedicated to life-size multi-person virtual reality.

After the ScanPyramids VR, the cave of Lascaux 1/1, the virtual twin is the latest experiment developed within this space open to the public.

Groups of up to six people, equipped with backpacks and virtual reality headsets and accompanied by a tour guide, will have the opportunity to explore the 235 meters of galleries that make up this prehistoric 'Sistine Chapel'. Users will be able to move freely through the space and, through their avatars, interact with each other.

Organised visits have taken place every hour since last April and in accordance with current health measures (only by reservation through the website of the Cité de l'architecture & du patrimoine ). After each visit, UV decontamination machine is used, developed for Exaltemps, to disinfect VR equipment and remove all germs and viruses. This machine ensures a maximum level of safety for users.

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