Benidorm presents the first virtual avatar that will offer information about the 'castellum' of El Tossal de La Cala

Benidorm has presented today the first virtual avatar that, through an 'app', will offer information to users about the Roman 'castellum' of El Tossal de La Cala. The mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, and the councilor of Historical Heritage, Ana Pellicer, have presented this technology during the first day of the International Tourism Fair of Madrid (Fitur), which has been inaugurated today and to which Benidorm is coming with a 'stand' itself in pavilion 7 of IFEMA at the stand of Turisme Comunitat Valenciana.

The mayor has indicated that "advancing our commitment to the Smart Tourism Destination (DTI) innovate once again, in this case implementing the latest technology applied to the tourism sector to show one of the jewels of our historical heritage: the site of El Tossal de La Cala, where the Roman 'castellum' from the 1st century BC is located ".

Through geolocation technologies, the 'app' presents the avatar Fabio: a Roman who in the first person will tell the user what life is like and how life is organized in the 'castellum', the dependencies that compose it, the routines and feeding of the troops, as well as the military function of this fort during the Sertorian Wars. "This technology allows us to have our avatar accompanying the visitor during any journey you want to make as if it were a guide," explained the mayor, who added that "there is a possibility to surround the hologram, standing behind him and see it from different perspectives. "

The 'app' called 'Benidorm Avatar' is already available on IOS and Android in Spanish and English, and incorporates subtitles in both languages ​​"to guarantee auditory accessibility". After the download, the application is activated when the camera of the mobile device is geolocated in El Tossal, detects a photo of it or does the same with the logo 'Culture & History', as it has been proved in the test that has been done in the 'stand' during the presentation.

Pérez stressed that "this augmented reality using the geolocation system 'Ground Plane Detection' allows us to make a qualitative leap in the sector of virtual avatars to help us better understand the culture, history and idiosyncrasy of Benidorm." "In the future," he added, "and depending on the response of this pilot, you can have more avatars with different themes."

For its part, the councilor of Historical Heritage stressed that "the implementation of this technology coincides with the project of consolidation, excavation and musealization of the El Tossal de La Cala deposit, which will be executed in the coming months with European and municipal funds ". "A project - has deepened - that comes to complement the seven consecutive archaeological campaigns conducted by the Department of Historical Heritage and the University of Alicante (UA) that have made this site a benchmark of the Roman forts of the Republican era in territory national".

Pellicer that "through Fabio we will be able to bring to the public the results of those archaeological campaigns and our historical heritage, in this case one of the three Cultural Interest Assets (BIC) that Benidorm has".