In 1997 Sudan became isolated from the world due to US sanctions. Those sanctions wouldn’t be lifted until over two decades later, finally allowing Sudan to reconnect with the world online.

And to help the rest of the world connect with Sudan, we wanted to share a part of the nation’s overlooked history – as part of our mission to organise the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.

When it comes to ancient history, few things are more enthralling than the mysterious pyramids – but few know Sudan actually has more pyramids than anywhere else in the world. The ancient capital of Meroë alone includes the remains of over 200 pyramids.

So we partnered with UNESCO Sudan to digitally capture this world heritage site, allowing anyone to explore Sudan's rich history from wherever they are.

We wanted users to feel like they were right there and exploring Sudan’s unique pyramids in person, from wherever they are in the world.

This meant creating a virtual tour unlike any we’ve made before. One that taps into the new unique possibilities of WebXR in Chrome on Android devices.

The idea was to explore one of Meroë’s Nubian pyramids in full 3D, including the interior of the pyramid (off limits to even physical visitors), and the burial chamber beneath it (where only a handful of people have ever set foot).

Users could take this 3D tour entirely through Chrome on desktop or mobile. And through the magic of WebXR on Android handsets, you could also project this entire experience in front of you, right there in your living room, as a fully-narrated augmented reality tour you can control.

With the extreme heat and constant sandstorms of the Sudanese desert, the normal methods of producing detailed 3D models through sensitive scanning devices isn’t possible.

Instead we took thousands of photos, which were used to construct a 3D model with the help of machine learning – a process called photogrammetry.

From a raw capture of over 3TB, an initial 2.6GB model was created. Which was reduced to a 110KB file size, with no loss in visual quality.

This meant through our website and WebXR experience you could explore a Nubian pyramid in 3D, with no big downloads required. And optimised for low-end devices in developing countries.

The experience was designed with inclusivity top of mind. Including an audio-only version, and syncing with any reduced motion settings your device might have.

This resulted in one of the first true immersive demonstrations of the capabilities of WebXR, through Chrome on Android devices.