Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit the Greek ruins at the Valley of the Temples situated in the south-west coast of Sicily. Tourism in the region is set to change following the development of a drone’s-eye view of the site developed by Helmut Hlavacs from the University of Vienna. The budding tourist sits at home with a pair of virtual reality goggles and directs the drone through movements of their head. Images are fed back to their head.

“From a flight, you could get a very good impression of the site, things you would not normally be able to see if you were walking through the ruins,” says Antonio Gentile, founder of InformAmuse, the archeology application start-up. The system was tested locally in an open field and on a narrow city street.

Hlavacs believes that drones are a cheap, low-stress, environmentally-friendly form of tourism. He said that drones are ideal for people who can’t afford to travel or who have disabilities.

Italy, Sicily, Agrigento, Valley of the Temples, Mediterranean area, Travel Destination, Temple of Juno