Mixed Reality Exhibitions

We are developing a framework for quickly and easily creating mixed reality museum exhibitions using Figmin XR.

The exhibitions run on Meta Quest headsets (Pro, 3 and above), Pico headsets, iPad, and Steam on Windows.

Figmin XR is a mixed (or augmented) reality application that overlays digital objects onto a live view of the real world. It's editing system makes it easy to construct scenes including 3D objects (from Sketchfab), videos, interactive web pages, spatial sound (where the sound comes from a specific direction in the scene), images, paintings, drawings, sculptures (it includes a complete set of artistic tools). We can add rich interactivity, and configure the location of objects, using Figmin's JavaScript application programming interface (api). We have built on this to create a set of templates for exhibitions and interactions.

For example, the Extinction exhibition uses a template in which the particiant first watches a short video displayed in front of their seated position. When this ends it disappears to reveal 3D models of fossils and living animals. Three of these are extinct (t-rex, megaladon, dodo), one is nearly extinct (a rare dolphin), and the last would be a major problem for us if it became extinct ( honey bee). There is also a virtual mat below the animals. The participant pulls an animal down onto the mat, and hears a spoken narrative about its extinction or how we can or should save it. They can then release the animal and it moves back to its starting position.

This template is used for further exhibitions about Dynasties of China, the Evolution of Weapons, and Greek Gods.

The Extinctions also includes an interface with a physical computing system, to demonstrate the possibilities enabled by the JavaScript API and web integration. When an animal is placed on the mat, a message is sent over http to a Raspberry Pi computer, which then sends a message via bluetooth to a Pico W microcontroller in a box, which activates a scent diffuser and fan. We have scents for each of the animals. So, for example, the participant gets to smell dodo scent (or at least the scent reconstructed by scientists working for a company that supplies museums).

Other exhibition templates are desiged for room-scale and social VR. Artefacts are displayed around a physical space, and the participant moves around the space to interact with them. This can be done socially, with other participants. They can even pick up and pass digital artefacts to each other.