more

focused

eye

on

the

possibilities

of

digital

2D

content

within

the

Peabody,

there

are

significant

opportunities

to

increase

visitor

interaction,

both

directly

in

the

functionality

of

existing

exhibits

and

also

by

streamlining

exhibit

cycling,

making

the

museum’s

content

equally

engaging

each

visit.

Though

traditional

screens

are

by

no

means

always

the

answer

to

conventional

signage,

digital

paper

can

combine

the

best

of

both

worlds

in

certain

situations.

Virtual

Reality

and

Augmented

Reality

Discussions

on

museums

adapting

modern

technologies

would

not

be

complete

without

referencing

Virtual

Reality

(VR)

and

Augmented

Reality

(AR).

These

technologies

have

been

in

use

by

museums

at

least

as

early

as

2010,

but

it

is

only

within

the

last

five

years

that

the

advent

of

lighter,

cheaper

headsets,

tools

and

software

have

unlocked

the

promise

of

these

technologies.

VR

refers

to

a

purely

simulated

or

virtual

environment.

Whether

by

donning

a

headset

or

stepping

into

a

simulated

space,

the

reality

shown

is

distinct

from

the

real

world.

On

the

other

hand,

AR

techniques

‘augment’

the

world

around

us,

for

instance

by

melding

it

with

virtual

objects.

Both

AR

and

VR

have

the

ability

to

alter

our

perception

of

the

world.

Cognisant

of

the

Peabody’s

needs

and

challenges,

this

discussion

will

consider

use

cases

for:

1.

Adding

interactivity

to

exhibits

2.

Navigating

through

the

museum

space

For

each

use

case,

it

will

reference

AR

and

VR

solutions

that

tend

to

fall

into

(often

a

mix

of)

two

categories:

1.

Consumer

technology

a.

Smartphones

b.

Special

hardware

e.g.

headsets

2.

Immersive

spaces

Exhibit

interaction

The Night

at

the

Museum franchise

played

with

the

idea

of

museums

come

to

life.

There

is

something

exciting

and

immensely

educational

about

an

exhibit

(such

as

a

Neanderthal),

volunteering

a

first-hand

account

of

its

life

and

experience.

AR/VR

can

bring

us

ever

closer

to

such

a

fantasy,

transforming

static

exhibits

to

dynamic

ones.

Consumer

technology

Smartphones

(AR)

Figures

2.1

and

2.2

are

representative

examples

of

consumer

AR

experiences

offered

in

museums

today.

The

first

figure

shows

a

proof-of-concept

by

the

UK-based

company,

RiseAR.6 When

a

special

code

(similar

to

a

QR

code)

is

viewed

through

a

smartphone

camera,

the

encased

specimen

appears

as

a

high-resolution

3D

model,

which

can

be

freely

magnified

or

rotated.

The

motivation

behind

the

AR

app

is

to

encourage

visitors

to

closely

inspect

the

physical

characteristics

of

a

specimen

as

it

lived.

The

second

figure—somewhat

related—shows

visitors

at

the

Natural

History

Museum,

London

looking

through

their

screens

at

an

animated

dinosaur

model.

The

animation

communicates

aspects

about

dinosaur

appearance

and

behavior

that

is

inadequately

described

by

fossils

and

illustrations

alone.

In

contrast

to

a

video

playing

on

a

flat

screen,

the

AR

experience

lets

viewers

walk

‘around’

the

specimen

and

focus

on

parts

they

want

to

see.

The

experience

is

packaged

into

an

app

so

that

visitors

can

use

their

personal

devices,

but

for

those

without

smartphones,

a

limited

number

of

museum

iPads

are

available

for

use.

Just

five

years

ago,

developing

such

interactions

would

have

been

time-consuming

and

expensive,

requiring

proprietary

tools

or

experimental

open-source

software.

Today,

with

the

advent

of

ARKit

and

ARCore

(available

on

the

iOS

and

Android

platforms

respectively),

as

well

as

free,

cross-platform

tools

like

the

Unity

game

engine,

it

has

become

inexpensive

and

simpler

to

develop

such

applications.

At

Yale’s

Tsai

Center

for

Innovative

Thinking,

for

instance,

Blended

Reality

workshops

instruct

students

how

to

create

AR

worlds

in

half

an

hour,

with

no

code.7 Part

of

the

reason

building

AR

(and

VR)

has

become

easier

is

because

modern

tools

abstract

away

the

technical

difficulties

of

anchoring

perspective,

identifying

planes,

and

interfacing

with

headsets.

The

bulk

of

a

developer’s

time

is

spent

modelling

and

animating

objects.

This

means

that

modern

AR/VR

is

closer

to

an

art

form

than

an

engineering

problem,

which

takes

time

to

get

right

for

each

specimen.

Having

considered

these

canonical

examples,

we

might

consider

how

AR

experiences

may

integrate

with

current

Peabody

exhibits.

It

is

unfortunate

that

the

Peabody

is

rich

with

history

about

the

origins

of

specimens,

scientific

rivalries

and

controversies,

but

there

is

not

enough

room

to

fit

all

this

information

onto

a

few

displays.

The

addition

of

unique

QR-like

codes

to

each

display

case

could

allow

a

smartphone

app

to

serve

up

any

number

of

3D

specimen

models,

virtual

avatars

for

guidance,

trivia

and

anecdotal

information.

A

mockup

is

provided

in

Figure

2.3.

This

pop-up

information

may

be

curated

and

refreshed

just

like

physical

displays

(while

arguably

consuming

less

resources),

adding

an

element

of

dynamism

that

incentivizes

users

to

keep

coming

back

and

try

the

experience.

Used

to

its

full

potential,

AR

can

mimic

an

existing

Peabody

exhibit

that

morphs

skull

to

flesh

(shown

in

Figure

2.4),

and

make

the

museum’s

monumental

specimens

come

alive.

Figure

2.5

shows

the

Natural

History

Museum

of

London’s

attempt

at

playing

with

such

resurrection.8

Scientific

consensus

on

how

creatures

behaved

or

looked

can

also

change.

The

pre-21st

century

conception

of

dinosaurs—when

Brontosaurus

was

mounted

in

the

Great

Hall—was

that

they

dragged

their

tails

on

the

ground.

More

recently,

it

was

shown

that

dinosaurs

are

closely

related

to

birds

and

had

feathers.

Rather

than

carrying

out

costly

remounts

of

fragile

bones,

or

commissioning

revised

illustrations,

curators

can

instead

use

AR

as

a

medium

to

showcase

the

new

while

preserving

the

old.

Headsets

(VR)

Though

not

all

headsets

are

VR

headsets,

substantially

more

resources

have

been

poured

into

VR

over

AR

headset

development.9 Although

AR

headsets

do

exist,

such

as

Google

Glass,

Microsoft

HoloLens

and

(more

recently)

Magic

Leap

One,

they

are

either

defunct

or

not

yet

available

to

consumers.

In

contrast,

VR

headsets

have

already

been

brought

to

market

by

manufacturers

such

as

HTC,

Oculus,

PlayStation

and

Samsung,

and

sales

are

thriving.

Prices

range

from

approximately

$500

to

$1000,

although

cheaper

headsets,

like

the

$20

Google

Cardboard,

are

nothing

more

than

a

pair

of

lenses

that

make

use

of

a

smartphone

to

power

a

VR-like

experience.10 Where

high-end

headsets

excel

is

their

ability

to

render

high-quality

graphics,

reduce

game

latency

and

provide

more

options

for

interaction,

such

as