Digital Heritage in Singapore: The Peranakans

The Peranakans, also known as the Straits-Chinese, played an important role in shaping Singapore’s history. They originated from the intermarriages between early Chinese settlers and the indigenous Malay. This blending of the Chinese and Malay ways of life formed a rich, multifacet culture, which added yet another dimension to Singaporean society. However as this colorful culture slowly fades away due to factors such as modernization, there is a need to preserve this unique aspect of Singapore’s culture. In order to stay interesting and relevant, new and innovative methods have to be engaged to educate and increase the awareness of the next generation. The objective of this project work is to digitally recreate the Peranakan cultural heritage in an interactive environment. Virtual Reality technology is used to represent the cultural content in a realistic, high resolution, digital environment. In order to engage visitors interactively, a Chinese calligraphy brush has been designed as a navigation tool and a Peranakan avatar has been created as the virtual tour guide through the virtual environment.