Museums and cultural heritage locations have used technology to create interactive exhibits and pedagogical tools that help spark visitors' interests. The rise of Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality Systems has further enabled the creation of a new generation of immersive experiences that can engage and educate visitors and audiences. These technologies can be used to develop digital characters that can serve as virtual tour guides and improve user engagement by answering questions and forming social bonds with the users. While such tour guides have been deployed as exhibits at many museums, the implementation is usually limited to a single exhibit or a section of the museum space. We believe that visitors will be better served if the virtual guide not only enriches the onsite experience but also provides a take-home experience for users to encourage future visits. So, for this thesis we are exploring the enhancement in user experience that such a system can bring by using onsite and offsite AR and WebVR technologies to create a virtual tour guide which assists visitors at the the Genesee Country Village & Museum through interactive dialog as they explore the museum space.
| Date | Detail |
|---|---|
| 11/2019 | Hololens Version Completed |
| 05/2020 | WebXR Version & Audio Transcription Server |
| 05/2020 | WebXR Version & Audio Transcription Server |
| 07/2020 | Mobile Version |
| 11/2020 | Object Scanning |
| 08/03/2021 | Proposal Submitted to Deparment |
| 13/03/2021 | Onsite Prototype Testing |