Direct use of point clouds in real-time interaction with the cultural heritage in pandemic and post-pandemic tourism on the case of Kłodzko Fortress

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, technology and interactive communication methods increased in importance. One of the sectors most affected by the lockdown was the tourism industry. It became necessary to apply a new approach to the research and development of this field using the virtual world. This paper presents the implementation of direct use of raw point cloud data enriched with digital historical resources on the case of the historic Klodzko Fortress in Poland’s Lower Silesia. Terrestrial laser scanning was used to visualise the real world, later used in a game engine to create space for real-time virtual interaction. Like the touring paths in the real world, the interaction in the adopted solution went beyond observation and understanding of the space unified with historical resources. The project’s overall goal was to create a safe and accessible digital tool to popularise the region’s cultural heritage resources in pandemic and post-pandemic times.