AI in Ayodhya: Ram Katha Museum's makeover powered by immersive tech to drive footfalls

Temple town Ayodhya's makeover is set to go beyond augmenting rail, road and airport infrastructure with Artificial Intelligence (AI) making its debut in the museums of the pilgrimage centre.

While the Ram Temple is the biggest centre of attraction in Ayodhya, the state government is making efforts to make the Ram Katha Museum the next big crowd puller in the city.

The plan is to drive footfalls from the current 1,000 to 10,000 footfalls a day after the museum is redesigned using immersive technology, said Saurav Bhaik, founder of Tagbin, an AI, AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality) driven services company which is designing the Ram Katha museum.

The company is working on a hyper-realistic statue of Lord Ram with hand movements. The statue will also be able to speak. "The whole objective is to provide an immersive experience of Ramayana as it happened. Plans are underway to provide live darshan of the deity installed in the temple from the museum itself," said Bhaik.

A lot of the work planned in the museum will be AI-driven, he said.

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“We have started designing the three-storey museum building which is two kilometres away from the temple. In one of the zones of the museum, there will be a hyper-realistic dome with animatronics, holograms, and idol projection. We will create illusions of different themes. There will also be a show of how the Ram Temple was built. Ramayana will be presented with live visuals which people will be able to see around them. Also, telling Ramayana in different languages is something we are working on. The greatest epic has audiences across the world like Thailand and Maldives. So we expect many international tourists to come to the museum."

After the completion of the Ram Temple work, the redesigning of the Ram Katha Museum will speed up, Bhaik said.

"Within 12 months we should have one phase of the museum ready for the public. The entire project completion will take 18 months. The size of the project is almost 40,000 square feet. After the work of the museum is completed, it will become the number two attraction in Ayodhya," he added.

There is also a temple museum coming up in Ayodhya, which is a brownfield project, the startup founder said.

The Uttar Pradesh tourism department is planning to do more things in the city. "We are pitching for sound and light shows," he said.

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Transforming through tech

Bhaik, an IIT Roorkee graduate, started Tagbin in 2013 in Gurugram with most of the projects in the international markets. "Until 2018, we were not doing work in India and were majorly focusing on Dubai and Singapore. From 2018, our revenue has come down from international markets to 10 percent from earlier 100 percent which is an indicator of the work being done in India. The current government has more focus on culture and tourism development."

The company has designed the Pradhan Mantri Sanghralaya, worked on the transmission of Subhash Chandra Bose hologram at India Gate, created a digital experience centre at the G20 event, along with a projection mapping show at Qutub Minar.

Himachal project

In Himachal Pradesh, the company is working on a virtual bus ride.

"A bus is modified using augmented and virtual reality for the project called Tagbin teleportation bus. The real-time movement of the physical bus is synched with the virtual movement using Group VR tech which allows panoramic views of the content. The moving bus will pass through the Atal tunnel and people will be able to see the Rohtang Pass as the windows of the bus turn into screens combined with other audio-visual components. The state government wants to redirect tourism from places like Manali and Shimla so that visitors get to know other places. The immersive bus ride will launch next month," Bhaik said.

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Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya

Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya, which was launched in 2022, is a museum that offers 7.5 hours of immersive content and is a detailed walk-through of every Prime Minister's vision. Also available to the public are AR-integrated exhibits such as 'Stroll with PM' and 'Selfie with PM' and the visitors can record a video of them walking with their favourite PM or take home a picture clicked with them.

Another exhibit is the VR-integrated 'Helicopter Ride' where viewers can see some of India’s futuristic projects. There is an AI-built 'Handwriting Robot' using which visitors can take home a personalised letter signed by a PM of their choice.

Bhaik said that the cost of designing the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya was around Rs 350 crore, which was funded by the government of India. He added that the cost of a digital museum is usually Rs 1 crore for 1,000 square feet.

The company has also created an AI-driven product called 'Talk To Modi' which offers people one-on-one interaction, with the Prime Minister providing advice and insights based on his experiences.

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The company's upcoming projects include a Niti Aayog experience centre, the designing of 10,000 acre Aravali Zoo Safari and the 3D digitisation of close to 1,000 museums.

"AI is bringing a change in culture and tourism. We are using AI in a lot of places like in the PM museum, if we have to tell a story there are not enough visuals. AI helps us generate visuals of a particular time," Bhaik said.