March 24th 2021
A 12 strong project team of computer science enthusiasts at Sherborne School have embarked on a project to produce an app that provides a Virtual Reality (VR) experience of Alan Turing's life, his possessions and his time at Sherborne School. Their task is to create software that runs on an Oculus Quest (2) VR headset, modelling the inside of the Macnaghten Library, containing shelves of items that have been used, or belonged to Alan Turing. Users will be able to hold the artefacts in their virtual hands, alongside reading and listening to information about them.
Now at proof of concept stage, this exciting project has really gained momentum and serves as a fine example of the academic enrichment afforded by the varied clubs and societies at Sherborne. The boys have used a LiDAR Scanner to capture the background of the Library, produced modelling of books and artefacts using blender and then put them on top of the scan to make them moveable.
David Wild, Head of Computer Science comments:
I am enormously proud of the boys for driving this project with such enthusiasm and creativity. The team have harnessed and developed various skills from programming, graphic design and research. Hugely inspired by Turing and his enduring legacy, the progress of this group of future scientists and mathematicians has been completely undeterred by remote learning. The boys have conquered up remarkable solutions during this challenging time, emulating the resilience and determination of the great man himself.
The idea for the project was inspired by the announcement in November last year that a settlement has been reached in the USA confirming that items belong to Turing will be returned to Sherborne after they were stolen in 1985. When the items are returned to their rightful home in the archives at Sherborne, this app will provide students the opportunity to virtually consult them.
The items themselves were given to the School in 1965 by the Turing family in memory of the time Alan Turing spent as a pupil at Sherborne. Amongst them are six of Alan Turing’s school reports dating from 1924 to 1931; the OBE he was awarded in 1946 for secret war service in the Foreign Office, together with a letter from King George VI regretting that due to ill health he was unable to present the award in person; the Princeton University PhD certificate awarded to Alan Turing in 1938; and the portrait photographs taken of Alan Turing in 1951 when he was made a fellow of the Royal Society.
Headmaster, Dr Dominic Luckett comments:
We continue to be very proud to count Alan Turing among our most distinguished alumni. His crucial work as a code-breaker at Bletchley Park and his enormous contribution to the subsequent development of computing have become more widely recognised in recent years and we as a School are keen to do all we can to preserve and promote his legacy. This project is a fantastic example of the boy’s technological ingenuity, as well as their ability to work together across all year groups to share skills and ideas.
When the product is complete the project team plan to launch the app and donate money generated through sales to one of Turing family’s charities.
