At Google Arts & Culture we are always looking for ways to help people understand and learn about culture in new and engaging ways. Starting today, we are launching a new feature through which our 2,000 plus cultural partner institutions can create guided 3D tours about buildings, sculptures, furniture, and more from their collections. With the help of 3D Tours you can easily whiz around historic sites, monuments and places of interest while learning about their hidden details and historical backgrounds - all courtesy of 3D data from Google Earth.

So how about a personal guided tour through Tokyo’s tallest towers, Florence’s beautiful basilicas or South Africa’s historical halls? These and 16 other 3D Tours make use of ModelViewer —  a tool through which interactive 3D models can easily be displayed on the web and in augmented reality. Not only will you be able to navigate smoothly to each stop of the tour but objects along the way can also be viewed in AR. So while you explore the heights of Tokyo Tower, you can discover its historic inspiration in your own home.

Climb into a famous artwork

Another way we are bringing art and culture to life is through Art Filter, a feature in the Google Arts & Culture camera tab that applies machine learning and augmented reality to turn you into a masterpiece. Today we have added five new artworks and artifacts to Art Filter for you to immerse yourself in. For example, become the Roman god of seasons as Arcimboldo’s Vertumnus, or cast a stony glare through the head of Medusa. 

How does it work?

Art Filter’s machine learning-based image processing positions the artifacts organically and smoothly on your head, or reacts to your facial expressions to make the filters as realistic as possible. What’s more, you can learn about each artwork from the fun facts that appear before the effect is applied. 

We hope these 3D tours and new filter options will help you explore the hidden details of these historic artifacts and feel connected to cultural heritage around the world.