Timetravel Fichtelgebirge - Erarbeitung eines multiperspektivischen XR-Kulturraumnarratives

We are presenting our approach for interactive cultural heritage storytelling in WebXR. Therefore, we are describing our scenes’ structure consisting of (stylized) photospheres of the historic locations, 3D models of 3D-scanned historic artifacts and animated 2D textures of historic characters generated with a machine learning toolset. The result is a platform-independent web-application in an immersive interactive WebXR environment running in browsers on PCs, tablets, phones and XR headsets thanks to the underlying software based on the open-source framework A-Frame. Our pa- per describes the process, the results and the limitations in detail. The resulting application, designed for the Fichtelgebirge region in Upper Franconia, Germany, offers users an immersive digital time travel experience in the virtual space and within a museum setting connecting real artifacts and virtual stories.

Tablet computers like the iPad are user-friendly and reliable interaction devices for displaying XR content in museums. Although they are lacking the stereo view of a VR headset, they also avoid the hygiene, optics and usability challenges of head mounted displays in public spaces. In our paper we describe methods to improve the shortcomings of these devices: Placement, presentation and distracting branding. Our solution is a combination of a physical hanging system and custom designed acrylic cases disguising the hardware. In our example of an exhibition about a baroque architect the result is a series of floating baroque picture frames which users are grabbing and rotating to view into the XR scenes.

Tablet computers like the iPad are user-friendly and reliable interaction devices for displaying XR content in museums. Although they are lacking the stereo view of a VR headset, they also avoid the hygiene, optics and usability challenges of head mounted displays in public spaces. In our paper we describe methods to improve the shortcomings of these devices: Placement, presentation and distracting branding. Our solution is a combination of a physical hanging system and custom designed acrylic cases disguising the hardware. In our example of an exhibition about a baroque architect the result is a series of floating baroque picture frames which users are grabbing and rotating to view into the XR scenes.