Intelligent cathedrals: Using augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence to provide an intense cultural, historical, and religious visitor experience

Abstract

It is no longer possible to enter the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, the most visited monument in the world, since its fire on April 15, 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has made tourism impossible for months and very difficult for years. However, virtual tours using immersive reality headsets provide a new alternative. This article studies how cathedrals can benefit from augmented and virtual reality and artificial intelligence to provide an intense cultural, historical, and religious experience for its visitors. A multiple case study is carried out in three cathedrals: Notre-Dame de Paris, France; the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, England; and the Catedral de Santa María de la Sede in Seville, Spain. The findings show how immersive technologies can be used to preserve cathedrals and allow visitors to access the inaccessible from the comfort of their homes, to follow their desires, including the impossible and the forbidden, resulting in a deep spiritual experience and a perception of the virtual as being at least as powerful as that of the real.