Dassault Systèmes, with their Passion for Innovation program, is emerging as a major player in bringing cutting edge technology to the field of Egyptology. Whether you are talking about creating immersive 3D environments to simulate tombs and monuments, fusing non-invasive surveying techniques to high-definition imagery, or simply bringing the most interesting Egyptian people, places, and things to the widest audience possible, Dassault Systèmes’ Mehdi Tayoubi is at the forefront with some new technology.
I promised I would try to get another chapter of Hemienu to Houdin out before leaving for Paris and the premier of Khufu Reborn, but in these last days it just became too impractical. Part of what makes the series so fun and informative is my fairly unrestricted access to the man himself, Jean-Pierre Houdin. But as he and the team from Dassault Systèmes make the final arrangements at la Géode, Jean-Pierre’s time has become an increasingly rare commodity. Besides, in a couple of days I will be able to talk with him face-to-face without feeling like I am imposing on his schedule.
So the series will conclude when I return from the conference and coverage of “Episode 2: Khufu Reborn” will begin in earnest. But in the meanwhile I am offering this excellent insider’s glimpse into how Dassault Systèmes became involved with Jean-Pierre and future directions we can anticipate. My good friend and fellow Egyptology blogger (still hate that word), Marc Chartier, proprietor of the Pyramidales website, recently had the opportunity to interview Mehdi Tayoubi, Director of Interactive Innovation at Dassault Systèmes.
By a special arrangement with Marc I have translated the interview from its original French and am presenting it here in its entirety for my English-language readers. The original interview, in French, is available from Pyramidales here.
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Tags: Dassault Systemes, Djedi Project, Giza 3D, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu Reborn, Khufu Revealed, Marc Chartier, Mehdi Tayoubi, Peter Der Manuelian, Project Khufu, Richard Breitner
Can’t make it to Egypt this summer? Never fear, Peter Der Manuelian and Mehdi Tayoubi are combining Fourth Dynasty architecture, Twentieth (and 21st) Century archaeology, and Generation Wow technology to take you places that would be off limits even if you were in Egypt. 
