Enhanced Inclusion through Advanced Immersion in Cultural Heritage: A Holistic Framework in Virtual Museology

Abstract

In recent years, the digitization of cultural heritage has been favored by significant advancements in specific technologies, such as photogrammetry and three-dimensional scanning. The digital representations of artifacts, paintings, books, and collections, as well as buildings or archaeological sites, has led to the transfer of cultural organizations to the digital space. On the other hand, the rapid development of immersive technologies and the Internet of Things is expected to decisively shape virtual cultural heritage in the coming years. However, this digital transition should expand its impact on most of the population. This article aims to cover the lack of structured methodology in the design and development of inclusive virtual spaces in cultural heritage. This research introduces a holistic framework that is mainly based on the disciplines of virtual museology. The proposed methodology takes into account the advancements in extended reality and the creative industry of computer games. The multisensory approach would lead to advanced immersive experiences, while the multilayered approach of cultural heritage content would enhance accessibility in inclusive virtual spaces. Moreover, this holistic framework could provide evidence from the virtual worlds that could be applied to real cultural heritage organizations.

Enhanced and Combined Representations in Extended Reality through Creative Industries

“…The current trend seems to lead to the development of XR devices that will include haptics and special devices for reproducing smells. In other words, multi-sensory XR devices will lead to the pinnacle of immersion [94]. However, the ease of use and the usefulness of the applications to be developed should be a high priority.…”

“…The link that unites the aforementioned technologies is game engines. Game engines are used as platforms that can orchestrate the integration of heterogeneous technologies and the development of universal applications that can be used on a wide variety of target devices [94]. Game engines host and process 2D and 3D graphics to develop virtual environments [103].…”

“…Furthermore, an extension that could be added to the proposed solution would be the possible integration of haptic devices for enhanced users' immersion when interacting with the combinatorial representation. In this way, they could feel the texture of the individual elements through haptic interactions, while at the same time, they would also strengthen the inclusion of people with impaired vision [94,108].…”