Experiencing a landscape remotely. Combining VR and archive sound to reveal its past

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This article presents the development, and exploration of a prototype for VR-dissemination of cultural heritage with the use of radio archive sound. Pastfinder 2.0 is designed to examine how historic audio, and emerging technologies can be combined to create immersive experiences and contribute to a deeper understanding of how the past has shaped the present-day landscape in an unpredictable future where cultural heritage sites might become harder to interpret and visit than they are today. The concept includes a 3D-model of a protected landscape and audio from the archive of the Norwegian Public Broadcasting Corporation, NRK. Each sound clip conveys narratives directly linked with locations at the mountain plateau of Dovrefjell. The study’s key innovation is the re-use of a public broadcasting archive for location-based virtual dissemination of cultural heritage, with the VR showing the landscape of today whilst the audio interprets its past. For the development and evaluation of the concept we have used the method of media design and strived to practice a bottom-up approach by including an extended peer community in the process. To get input for further iterations, the prototype has been explored by students specializing in Media and Interaction Design. The article describes the design-process, present results from the user-study and discuss these in view of the project’s intended purpose. Our findings show that most students felt that they were physically at the location and that this usage of a radio archive can make it more relevant in our day and age. They also indicate that VR-experiences can be overwhelming and stand in the way of the audio content and reveal a potential for enhancing the knowledge output of the concept and its level of interactivity.