Extended Reality(XR)technologies are increasingly employed in museums and heritage contexts to create immersive,interactive experiences that enhance public engagement with cultural content.However,their widespread ado...Extended Reality(XR)technologies are increasingly employed in museums and heritage contexts to create immersive,interactive experiences that enhance public engagement with cultural content.However,their widespread adoption is often hindered by high development costs,limited technical expertise,and accessibility concerns.This paper introduces ExPresS XR(Experimentation and Presentation for Science with OpenXR),an open-source platform built on the Unity game engine,enabling the creation of Virtual,Augmented,and Mixed Reality exhibitions without programming skills.The system provides museumspecific functionalities,including rapid virtual space creation,interactive artifact showcases,gamified learning modules,and integrated visitor data collection.Two case studies-Temple Tax&Doves,a VR reconstruction of Herod’s Temple with numismatic learning tasks,and Hornmoldhaus VR,a comprehensive virtual representation of the Hornmoldhaus City Museum incorporating both its Japanese artifact collection and other exhibits such as a Roman engraved gem,reconstructed wine cellar,and archival holdings–demonstrate the platform’s application in archaeological and historical contexts.Drawing on over ten XR projects,the paper identifies best practices for motion design,interaction simplicity,and balancing scholarly accuracy with engaging gameplay.ExPresS XR offers a practical,cost-effective approach to XR-based science communication,supporting museums,archaeologists,and cultural institutions in developing accessible,research-informed virtual exhibitions.展开更多
文摘Extended Reality(XR)technologies are increasingly employed in museums and heritage contexts to create immersive,interactive experiences that enhance public engagement with cultural content.However,their widespread adoption is often hindered by high development costs,limited technical expertise,and accessibility concerns.This paper introduces ExPresS XR(Experimentation and Presentation for Science with OpenXR),an open-source platform built on the Unity game engine,enabling the creation of Virtual,Augmented,and Mixed Reality exhibitions without programming skills.The system provides museumspecific functionalities,including rapid virtual space creation,interactive artifact showcases,gamified learning modules,and integrated visitor data collection.Two case studies-Temple Tax&Doves,a VR reconstruction of Herod’s Temple with numismatic learning tasks,and Hornmoldhaus VR,a comprehensive virtual representation of the Hornmoldhaus City Museum incorporating both its Japanese artifact collection and other exhibits such as a Roman engraved gem,reconstructed wine cellar,and archival holdings–demonstrate the platform’s application in archaeological and historical contexts.Drawing on over ten XR projects,the paper identifies best practices for motion design,interaction simplicity,and balancing scholarly accuracy with engaging gameplay.ExPresS XR offers a practical,cost-effective approach to XR-based science communication,supporting museums,archaeologists,and cultural institutions in developing accessible,research-informed virtual exhibitions.
