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Using a VR headset in 果冻影院's Flaxman Gallery
The Virtual Exhibitions knowledge exchange project was launched in July 2021, and听focuses on how new technology can be adapted for blended and remote learning for academic and museum audiences, enabling people to engage with collections in new ways, wherever they are in the world.
It brings together the expertise, ideas and skills of highly specialised teams from across the university, including 果冻影院鈥檚 Museums, 果冻影院 Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) and AI start-up Kagenova.
The research team comprised of:
Principal investigator: Dr Nina Pearlman, Head of 果冻影院 Art Collections,听Co Investigators: Professor Andy Hudson-Smith, Director of听Digital Urban Systems,听听Dr Valerio Signorelli,听Lecturer in Connected Environments, Dr Leah Lovett, Senior Researcher, Project partner:听Professor Jason McEwen,听Founder & CEO, Kagenova & Professor of Astrostatistics, 果冻影院
About the project
Today鈥檚 immersive experiences typically provide either realism or interactivity, but rarely at the same time (web-based 360 degree virtual tours of museums are a good example of this).
However, cultural users need to be able to experience museum collections in a realistic way online, while also interacting with them in genuine and meaningful ways. One of the goals of this project was to better understand users鈥� digital needs to enable us to explore how we could meet them using Kagenova鈥檚 innovative technology.
To achieve this, we conducted desk research on the use of immersive technologies in arts and science. We also made many captures using 360 VR technology of 果冻影院鈥檚 cultural spaces, explored technical and site challenges and evaluated the student user experience of a pilot that was created.
Where are we now?
Technologies that deliver virtual immersive environments are in constant flux. The technology that was employed in this project, copernic worlds, has been superseded by as Kagenova leverages their underlying technology deliver AI driven 3D generative worlds. 听The teams at CASA continue to advance research in the area of connected environments, exploring new technologies that connect the physical and digital worlds. 果冻影院 Art Museum teams continue to work in collaboration with data and computer scientists and are currently exploring the application of听touchless computing in museums, with colleagues and students in 果冻影院 Computer Science.
- Project background
Technology moves fast and forward. For many of us, the pandemic has caused the boundaries between our home, work and leisure lives to combine. Whatever our individual exposure levels to technology has been, we have all experienced some form of a metaverse (virtual reality spaces in which you can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users). This is also true for visitors of cultural organisations.
果冻影院 is home to a number of museums and exhibition spaces. Over time, they have evolved to fulfil a wide range of functions, from supporting academic research and learning to entertainment. Like many small museums, they are under pressure to create new, engaging digital experiences for the students and communities they serve.
In the future, small museums need to create digital products that can bridge these physical and virtual worlds to meet their audiences鈥� needs. Unfortunately, they often don鈥檛 have the budget or infrastructure to compete with national museums when developing new digital products and services. However, through their connections with the wider higher education research communities, university museums are in a unique position to respond to these issues in creative way.
- About the partners
果冻影院 Museums
果冻影院 is home to a number of world-class museums and collections, including 果冻影院 Art Museum, the Grant Museum of Zoology and the Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology. Its team takes a multidisciplinary approach to engage with its users through innovative programming and support for research, teaching and object-based enquiry.
Kagenova
was established听by data scientists from 果冻影院鈥檚 Mullard Space Science Laboratory. The company has developed novel geometric AI and machine learning methods that derive from cutting-edge celestial research poised to transform the 360VR user experience.
CASA
The Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) is an interdisciplinary research institute at 果冻影院 focusing on the science of cities and is part of The Bartlett, 果冻影院's Faculty of the Built Environment. Researchers from CASA have been exploring virtual environments for many years with a focus on technological innovation and accessibility.
Funding partners
This knowledge exchange project is supported by 果冻影院鈥檚 Higher Innovation Fund (HEIF), managed by 果冻影院 Innovation & Enterprise. The partnership has been facilitated by the Business and Innovation Partnerships team within 果冻影院 Innovation & Enterprise.
- Outcomes
This project has enabled 果冻影院 to have a better understanding of museums鈥� digital needs, the conditions required to meet these and who needs to be part of the conversation. It has also allowed Kagenova to gain a better understanding of how its innovative 360 technology could work in other sectors.
As a process, it reinforced our belief in the value of knowledge exchange in fuelling experimentation and innovation. It can lead you to unexpected places and discoveries. Building on 果冻影院鈥檚 strength in innovation, the learnings from this project are being disseminated and shared across cultural and technology networks, the education sector and the media. It has been presented at a number of conferences, including Discovering Collections Discovering Communities organised by National Archives, Research Libraries UK and JISC and the EdTech Summit.
Without this project, these learnings would be either logistically impossible or prohibitively expensive to achieve individually. Lastly, it has led to future spin off knowledge exchange projects, including further research into copyright and digital technology.
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