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Arts & Communication Integrating extended reality in modern museums

interaction. When testing the prototype, participants Blockchain, Visualization, and 5G. 29,62,76,113 Although the
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could bring additional information into view by simply Metaverse and the HMDs through which it is explored
staring at a digital exhibit. They could also pick up and remain in the relatively early stage of development, this
carry virtual objects in the augmented space, point at them technology is being heralded as a “shock wave” that will
to trigger events, and pinch or swipe to resize or remove transform the museum world and its relationship with
unwanted information. visitors, especially younger generations. 76
The first systematic combination of AR and VR in The term “metaverse” (“meta” + “universe”) was first
an Italian museum was implemented by Trunfio et al. used in 1992 in a science fiction novel by Neal Stephenson,
through experimental MR technology. At the Ara Pacis where the protagonist navigates a virtual world through
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Museum (Rome), the project used a 3D tracking-location digital avatars. 29,74,75 The concept of the Metaverse, as the
system, advanced computer vision algorithms, and special “virtual dimension made tangible,” entered the public
equipment, allowing visitors to experience the monument spotlight mainly after the pandemic, when companies such
in its original colors, “fly” over its location for an aerial view as Meta, Apple, and Microsoft began planning to enter it,
and witness a sacrificial ritual. This immersive experience attempting to understand its potential to create financial
provided visitors with deep knowledge and intense esthetic value above all else. 62,75,113
application of the monument and its history. 16,107 More specifically, the metaverse is a complex, shared,
Hammady et al. also designed an MR museum guide and continuous large-scale digital/online platform where
system. Implemented at the Egyptian Museum (Cairo), the the real world (physical space and human reality) and the
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system included an application that allowed visitors to interact digital ecosystem are interconnected through the creation
with simulations of ancient exhibits from the Tutankhamun of 3D point clouds, sensor networks, HMDs (Metaverse VR
collection, alongside a virtual guide-avatar that provided Headsets), and virtual replicas of participants, namely, their
visual information. According to users’ evaluations, the most “avatars”. 76,114,115 An avatar is the “digitized” version of the
critical elements of this immersive MR experience were the human body, an upgraded and super-powered version of
digital tour guide (avatar), virtual characters, and objects, itself – enhanced by 3D, VR, AR, and AI – enabling people
enhanced by music and sound effects. 22 to perform tasks not possible in reality by participating in
an improved virtual model of the physical world. 76,114-116
In addition to enhancing museum visits, AR applications In meta-reality or hyper-reality, individuals are expected
have been used in museum spaces for entertainment and to escape physical temporal and spatial constraints,
marketing purposes. For instance, at MuseumsQuartier experiencing “the dimension of imagination”. 115
Wien, visitors experienced an impressive audiovisual
performance by simply pointing their mobile devices at a What sets the metaverse apart from other virtual worlds
cultural institution or the museum courtyard. In other of digital images is the shift from the familiar 2D online
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cases, inventive AR applications have allowed users to experience to an immersive 3D experience. This shift is
interact with paintings by altering their colors, uncover predicted to be highly as transformative as the artistic shift
the secrets of famous artworks by “entering the mind” from 2D to 3D after the introduction of perspective during
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of their creators, or engage with art created through AR the Renaissance. In this hybrid, parallel universe, formed
technology. 109-111 by the merging of virtual and real into one experiential
continuum, users will be able to engage in various activities
Finally, AR can also be used to provide detailed in new ways, such as working, gaming, attending concerts,
information on the analysis and study of museum shopping, traveling, socializing, communicating via social
interventions, facilitating the work of conservators- media, and conducting trade deals, all while experiencing
restorers and advancing the production of new forms of the sensation of truly being there. 29,62,75,116-118
digital documentation. 112
However, as the blending of these two worlds progresses,
The benefits, challenges, and best practices for the use with expressions and movements transferring from human
of AR in museums are summarized in Table 2. reality to VR through our digital alter egos, and virtual
stimuli integrating into the physical world (e.g., through
3.8. Metaverse
touch sensors), the question arises of whether we are
The Metaverse is a new MR of a spatiotemporal continuum experiencing a “culture clash” between bounded physical
that combines elements of a virtual world, the World spaces and borderless cyberspaces. In this context, new
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Wide Web, social networks, and real-life reflections. It is modes of presence, communication, and social connection
based on immersive VR–AR technologies, as well as other are emerging, where human-to-human interaction will be
technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), AI, mediated by a new VR simulation of real life. 75,114,115

Volume 3 Issue 1 (2025) 11 doi: 10.36922/ac.3428