The versatility of augmented reality for the enhancement of cultural heritage.

Abstract

All Virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality or straight-up video games can now be found in growing numbers within spaces dedicated to culture and the arts. The choice of such tools is trans-forming the traditional museum tour into a multifaceted and interactive experience to the point, in some cases, of flirting with entertainment. From our experience, the role of augmented reality hasn’t been to substitute itself to the « real » tour. On the contrary, AR invites the user to immerse themselves in an animated personal experience enriched with supplementary information. Elaborated with goals and features different from those of virtual reality, AR aims at strengthening direct contact with works of art as much as possible, inciting an active « live » use and a presence “on-site” more than “on-line”. The diversity of three logistical contexts in which we have worked — a large-scale monument, a historical palace and its heterogenous art collection, and finally an archeological complex encompassing a traditional museum and the remains of a Roman amphitheatre — has brought us to reflect upon the functional aspects that come to determine a personalized digital product, as tailored as possible to specific needs. Each of the three apps has permitted a deepening of each of their features in order to meet specific goals targeted by various museum institutions. In this paper we describe these features in more specific terms.