Indian Railways is collaborating with the Google Cultural Institute to exhibit its heritage assets like bridges, steam locomotives, buildings, artefacts and museums over the latter’s platform, reports TechFactsLive. The agreement will help the Railways digitize its assets which can then be accessed online for free. The Railways also plans to launch a dedicated rail heritage website as well, although it does not provide a timeline for it. Other than this, the Railways claims it is in the process of preparing a comprehensive conservation management program to preserve and promote its heritage assets. The agency will also eventually offer online and virtual tours as ‘tourist attractions’. The GCI project from Google helps digitize historical exhibits, collections, galleries from museums all over the world and display it online in a viewable format. It was launched globally in 2011 and in India in 2012, by initially partnering with the National Museum and the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi. Currently, GCI works with more than 18 Indian institutions. New features and locations: In July this year, GCI updated its website and app to allow users to browse the history and view panoramic imagery of historical sites like the Nalanda University. Additionally the company added new features like scrolling through art using a timeline and browsing painting based on color. It also started allowing features like using VR headsets for virtual tours. GCI partnership with Indian Museum: In May this year, the GCI added 360-degree panoramic format images of artifacts, historical paintings and…
