Roman history of Colchester to come to life using VR technology
Virtual reality headsets will immerse tourists in the town's past
Visitors to Colchester will be able to travel back in time to see the town's lesser-known Roman history.
Thanks to technological advancements and the rollout of the 5G network, tourists can immerse themselves in the history of Colchester using virtual reality (VR) headsets.
At a panel meeting on Tuesday (February 15th), Lindsay Barker, Strategic Director of Policy and Place from the Council, said that the VR headsets could be put in places such as the Roman Wall and Colchester Castle.
Colchester Borough Council have allocated £1 million towards the implementation of 5G in the area, with virtual-reality tourism is the best current real-life use of 5G.
Other uses for the 5G network would also include traffic and air quality monitoring, with the goal to improve the quality of life in the town.
It is hoped that should the network get the green light, the increase in connectivity would benefit the digital economy of the area and foster new places to work.
During the panel meeting, Ms Barker said: “As you’ll probably know with 5G technology, it’s very expensive, so this is scratching the surface and really trying to tackle market failure to see whether we can deploy this technology successfully in the town centre and then encourage the market to follow.”
Estimates for the implementation of the 5G network in Colchester have reached as high as £900,000.
The plans come as part of the Town Deal programme, which looks to regenerate the town centre and draw more people back to the high street, as well as creating more affordable homes for people in the area.