SINTOK, August 15 – The development of an Augmented Reality (AR) application by two lecturers from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), has become the latest facility for visitors to Istana Maimun in Medan, Indonesia to explore the beauty of the palace.

The implementation of the "Exploring Maimun Palace Through AR Application" project received a matching grant from three universities namely UUM, the Islamic University of North Sumatra (UISU) and the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) of the United Kingdom worth RM30,000.

Prof. Associate Dr. Husniza Husni from the Center for Computing Studies and Senior Lecturer at the Center for Multimedia and Communication Technology (SMMTC) UUM, Fakhrul Anuar Aziz took almost a week to complete the AR project.

The two were selected as researchers and project developers at Istana Maimun based on their success in providing AR facilities to visitors to the City of Kuala Kedah through a project called "Tracing the Kedah-Siam War" which successfully added value to the historic tourist location in Kedah.

"At Istana Maimun, we started the project by having a discussion with the representative of the 14th Sultan of Deli, Tengku Moharsyah Nazmi, to get a picture, facts and stories related to Istana Maimun. After getting the facts right, we prepared a QR code to attach to the artifacts and historical photo collection inside the palace. That way, visitors to Istana Maimun can scan the code and directly get relevant information on their respective smartphones. When scanned, users can not only see animations related to artifacts or pictures but can also hear the narrator's voice explaining the story and facts of the artifacts or pictures in the palace.

"Our team also recorded a short documentary about Istana Maimun which is a symbol of the greatness of the Deli Sultanate. This palace was built by order of the Sultan of Deli, Sultan Ma'moen Al Rashid based on the typical Malay architectural style and became one of the famous landmarks of the capital of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The construction of this palace with an area of ​​2,772 square meters led by the architect, Captain Thedoor van Erp began on August 26, 1888 and was completed on May 18, 1891. Today, it has become one of the tourist attractions in Medan because it has a construction influenced by Islamic, Malay, Spanish, India and Italy," explained Fakhrul Anuar.

According to Fakhrul Anuar, the project is 80 percent completed and they are scheduled to return to Istana Maimun in December to complete the content or AR module in the form of a video.

Istana Maimun is open daily to visitors from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm and on average, it is visited by around 400 local and foreign tourists every day and the number increases to 1,000 visitors on festive holidays such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri last year.

Istana Maimun consists of two floors with 30 rooms and three parts, which are the main building, the left wing building and the right wing building.

The palace building faces the East and in front of it there is the Al-Mashun Mosque or better known as the Great Mosque of Medan.

"Maimun Palace is an important tourist location in Medan and the tourism authorities are always trying to improve the facilities for visitors here. Through UISU's feedback, they see the "Exploring Maimun Palace Through AR Application" project will provide significant added value. This is because, with AR, tourists will find it easier to get information related to Istana Maimun by simply scanning the QR code.

"The UISU side is very pleased with the successful implementation of the project and is interested in further expanding cooperation with UUM to develop augmented reality applications in several other tourist locations in North Sumatra, especially places with interesting historical stories," said Fakhrul Anuar again.

According to him, in addition to the architectural beauty of the palace and the surrounding gardens, there are many treasures that symbolize Malay cultural heritage such as art collections, historical artifacts consisting of antiques, jewelry, traditional weapons and various other items that show the life and culture of the Deli Sultanate.

All information related to the collection is now more accessible to visitors through this AR application project.

Before this, tour guides played an important role in helping visitors get information about Maimun Palace and with the "Exploring Maimun Palace Through AR Application" project, visitors can gain access just by scanning a QR code.