Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus), through its Computer Science in Art and Culture (CSAC) team, took part in the development of the Ranggawarsita museum project. The project was developed with the Central Java government. Furthermore, the museum mainly employed a VR-based approach as a way for tourists to learn.

The project was marked by an agreement between Udinus and the government, which was signed on Monday, May 20th, 2024. The partnership was officially signed by Prof. Dr. Pulung Nurtantio Andono, S.T., M.Kom., (the Vice Chancellor IV of Research and Partnership Affairs at Udinus) and Uswatun Hasanah, S.Pd., (the Head of the Education and Culture Service of Central Java). The whole procession was witnessed by Prof. Dr. Ir. Edi Noersasongko, M.Kom., (the Chancellor of Udinus) and Sugiharto, S.Pd., M.Pd., (the Head Curator of the Ranggawarsita Museum).

More than 60 thousand museum artifacts will be digitized by Udinus. The process will employ various techniques, including Image Processing, 3D Contruction, Photogrammetry and VR.

Those techniques will later allow them to create a virtual museum consisting of objects with High Quality and High Precission. The design of this virtual museum will be overseen by the CSAC team at Udinus and the Information Technology and Educational and Cultural Communication Development Center of Central Java (BPTIK).

Prof. Dr. Ir. Edi Noersasongko, M.Kom., (the Chancellor of Udinus) stated that this partnership served as an initial step for Udinus and the government to digitize the museum, allowing the public to see all those artifacts. It takes dedication and precision from the CSAC team to digitize the artifacts. In addition, the National Awakening Day is a perfect momentum for this specific project.

“The virtual museum will be among the most ambitious innovations from Udinus and the Central Java government. Furthermore, this museum shall also become a learning media for the public,” the chancellor emphasized.

Expectation from the Government

The agreement of this virtual museum project collaboration was signed on the first floor of the H building at Udinus, involving both the campus and the Central Java government. The procession was attended by all vice-chancellors at Udinus, as well as representatives from the Central Java government and the Information Technology and Educational and Cultural Communication Development Center of Central Java.

Meanwhile, Uswatun Hasanah, S.Pd., (the Head of the Education and Culture Service of Central Java) expressed her joy to Udinus for assisting the development of this virtual museum. According to her, this collaboration was a continuation of the previously agreed MoU between Udinus and the BPTIK of Central Java. Through this collaboration, the virtual museum will later consist of an artifacts collection digitized by Udinus with high quality.

“The virtual museum will be filled with pictures with high precision as showcased by the CSAC team from Udinus. Even if the real artifacts were to be slightly broken, this virtual technology would fix them in digital forms,” she revealed.

Through this remarkable innovation, the Central Java government put a high expectation on Udinus to develop a virtual museum as a source of knowledge for Indonesian youths.