Virtual Heritage Experiences Research Articles

Differences in Heritage Tourism Experience between VR and AR: A Comparative Experimental Study Based on Presence and Authenticity

This study developed two distinct types of remote heritage virtual tourism programs, namely VR and AR. We utilized the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model to understand how users’ perceptions of vividness and interactivity in VR and AR influence their sense of presence and perceived authenticity. Furthermore, we explored how the sense of presence and perceived authenticity further impact tourists’ responses, including satisfaction and behavioral intention. The findings indicate differences between VR and AR in several aspects. To elaborate, in the context of VR, vividness significantly influences perceived authenticity, an effect not found within the AR setting. Furthermore, interactivity impacts the sense of presence in AR, but this is not the case in VR. Within an AR setting, a user's sense of presence directly influences their level of satisfaction, yet no corresponding impact was found in VR. Even though the results show varying influences of presence on user intention in VR and AR, no significant differences were discovered. By gaining an in-depth understanding of tourists’ actual perceptions of VR and AR applications, this study provides insights for heritage site managers on how to employ VR and AR to enhance the efficiency of virtual heritage experiences for tourists.

HBIM AND EXTENDED REALITY FOR CULTURAL MEDIATION OF HISTORICAL HERITAGE: A REVIEW

Abstract. In the realm of Cultural Heritage, emergent technologies such as HBIM (Historical Building Information Modeling) and Extended Reality (XR) are becoming instrumental in creating immersive Virtual Heritage experiences. A review of relevant literature indicates that these technologies have been utilized to build 3D HBIM models and highlight them on immersive platforms for purposes of cultural dissemination and promotion. Technological progress now accommodates the assimilation of historical data via HBIM methodology, which opens avenues for novel communication forms and the distribution of information through extended reality techniques. This, in turn, ensures cultural mediation and heritage site promotion. This study aims to present a comprehensive survey of research surrounding the application of HBIM in heritage site preservation and management. Moreover, this paper intends to provide an overview of the concepts and the role of XR within HBIM, in supporting the cultural mediation and promotion of historical heritage. This research further delineates a pathway for future endeavours concerning the integration of XR technologies within the policies of architectural and built heritage conservation and assessment.

Understanding a virtual heritage site through the lens of telepresence and virtual destination image

ABSTRACT The experience of heritage sites through digital technology is an increasingly important topic for researchers and practitioners. Drawing upon telepresence theory, this study explores how a visitor’s destination image is formed and its impact on satisfaction in a virtual heritage site experience. The survey results show that telepresence, cognitive image, affective image, and satisfaction are positively correlated. Furthermore, the relationship between telepresence and satisfaction was mediated by the destination image in the virtual heritage site experience. This research extends telepresence theory by testing its impact on destination image in a virtual tourism experience as well as providing some meaningful practical insights for heritage site marketing managers on virtual heritage experiences.

Incidence of stereo blindness in a recent VR distance perception user study

Estimates of stereo-blindness, the inability to see in 3D using stereopsis, often sit in the 5-10% range. At the Curtin University HIVE visualization facility, we regularly show stereoscopic content. During those demonstrations we invariably show a test random dot stereogram and it’s been our casual observation that the incidence of stereo-blindness amongst visits has been much lower than the 5-10% figure, perhaps as low as 2%. Our thought was that perhaps eye care has improved since the time that the original stereo-blindness studies were performed. A VR based user study was recently run in the HIVE, as part of a PhD project, with an aim to study distance perception in underwater virtual heritage experiences. Distance perception is facilitated by a range of visual cues, including stereoscopic vision, and as a result we screened participants for stereo-blindness. Using a standardized stereo test, we found approximately 5% of participants reported as stereo blind. This presentation will provide some background on stereo-blindness, and discuss issues related to measuring stereo-blindness and its likely prevalence in the general population. It will also provide an early look at the VR based user study investigating distance perception in underwater virtual heritage experiences.

A bottom-up method for remixing narratives for virtual heritage experiences

Considering the impacts COVID-19 has had on travel and many economies, developing virtual experiences that are well-received by different publics has become even more prominent. This paper shows how a multimodal discourse analysis can be used to as a bottom-up approach to identifying narrative themes that can be used in virtual experiences for cultural heritage sites. A case study on 11 UNESCO World Heritage Australian Convict Sites shows how diverse sources of user-generated content, tourism marketing materials and historical information can be analysed and then remixed into a virtual tour of the sites in the form of an interactive web documentary (iDoc). Although this case study involved a total of seven narrative development phases, this paper focuses on two phases, namely how the user model and content model were determined. These models were later used to develop the resulting iDoc prototype. The user model focused on the prospective audience of cultural heritage tourists, and a content model of narrative themes for the iDoc was developed through a multimodal discourse analysis. This bottom-up approach of analysing existing cultural data allows for the discovery of the prospective audiences’ interests as well as narrative themes that can be included in virtual heritage experiences. It also provides a new creative methodology that can prevent issues that may arise with top-down narratives that focus too heavily on one institutional perspective or national narrative and lack direct engagement with or understanding of today’s publics.

THE DIGITAL RESTITUTION OF LOT 3317: USING UNDERWATER IMAGE BASED MODELLING TO GENERATE VALUE IN VIRTUAL HERITAGE EXPERIENCES

Abstract. The intent of this paper is to demonstrate the cultural value that Virtual Heritage experiences can generate. As a proof of concept, game resolution assets were optimized from high polygon image based models (IBMs) and rendered in real-time, within a Head Mounted Display (HMD). The case study of lot 3317 was chosen to facilitate heuristic explorations pertinent to the history of the St. Lawrence Seaway, Canada. This case study explores methods in creating and validating heritage values, while valourizing assets as a cultural resource for use in the future. While at the same time, challenging the current spatial dynamics by conceptually reducing the distance between the viewer and the flooded landscape. In addition to demonstrating the cultural values generated through the veneration of lot 3317, the paper aims to provide a model for optimizing and post processing meshes produced through Under-Water Image-Base Modelling.

THE DIGITAL RESTITUTION OF LOT 3317: USING UNDERWATER IMAGE BASED MODELLING TO GENERATE VALUE IN VIRTUAL HERITAGE EXPERIENCES

Abstract. The intent of this paper is to demonstrate the cultural value that Virtual Heritage experiences can generate. As a proof of concept, game resolution assets were optimized from high polygon image based models (IBMs) and rendered in real-time, within a Head Mounted Display (HMD). The case study of lot 3317 was chosen to facilitate heuristic explorations pertinent to the history of the St. Lawrence Seaway, Canada. This case study explores methods in creating and validating heritage values, while valourizing assets as a cultural resources for use in the future. While at the same time, challenging the current spatial dynamics by conceptually reducing the distance between the viewer and the flooded landscape. In addition to demonstrating the cultural values generated through the veneration of lot 3317, the paper aims to provide a model for optimizing and post processing meshes produced through Under-Water Image-Base Modelling.

Orchestrating experts’ assumptions and children’s values in the design of Virtual Heritage experiences

Abstract The roles that children are allowed to play in the co-design of an interactive experience are strongly influenced and determined by the views of designers and other adult stakeholders on childhood, as well as by their expectations of children’s skills and cognitive capacities. In this paper, we contrast these assumptions in the design of a Virtual Heritage experience for guided school visits at an archaeological site. The goal of our study was to analyse different viewpoints of adult stakeholders in order to find new strategies that balance power relations between adults and children. The study was carried out in the context of the preliminary design stage of an interactive learning experience for a bomb shelter dating from the Spanish Civil War, known as “Refugi 307”. Our analysis reveals some of the reasons behind the assumptions of adult stakeholders. These outcomes were our starting point for defining strategies that can establish collective values among adult stakeholders and enrich the range of roles of children in a design process.

Learning about the past through situatedness, embodied exploration and digital augmentation of cultural heritage sites

Abstract The design of interactive experiences for archaeological sites entails the consideration of the particular characteristics and constraints of the exhibition space. Our aim is to address these challenges by exploring the potential of a recently emerging interaction paradigm called World-as-Support, which is based on projective Augmented Reality (AR). In this study, we present the design process of a virtual heritage experience for a bomb shelter built during the Spanish Civil War that currently belongs to the Barcelona History Museum. The goal of this study was twofold. First, we aimed to define the requirements for the design of a first prototype based on the World-as-Support interaction paradigm. Second, we carried out a study with a local school to evaluate the benefits of an educational experience based on this paradigm. Our results indicate benefits to complement the guided visit: (1) by using projective AR to explore different layers of the learning experience; and (2) by including collaborative activities based on embodied enactments to foster the understanding of historical contents that require emotional engagement and critical thinking.