Innovative Design: Merging AR & VR Technologies

Augmented and virtual reality are not just new technologies; they bring an invaluable dimension that we are only beginning to grasp. The novelty of these tools is already fading as they quietly become part of daily life.

Understanding AR and VR

Before diving into their applications in museums and outreach, it is essential to understand what AR and VR are.

Augmented Reality (AR) enhances the real world by adding digital elements to it. For example, when you point your smartphone at a painting, AR can display information about the artist or the artwork itself.

Virtual Reality (VR), on the other hand, creates a completely immersive experience. When you wear a VR headset, you can be transported to another place or time.

The Benefits of AR and VR in Museums and Outreach

The real revelation came from a dilemma I first encountered in museology: when you deploy media in a physical space and aim to increase the quality of your content, you inevitably face constraints. Creativity helps, of course, the alpha and omega of our profession, but sooner or later, you hit one of two structural limits.

Either you lack the space to display everything, or, if you are as vast as the Louvre or the British Museum, you lack the time for visitors to experience it all. How many times have we left an exhibition too tired to continue, or a conference hall without meeting everyone we had hoped to?

Working with skilled developers, engineers, and technicians, I provided specifications to connect physical exhibitions with digital storytelling. Together we developed AR/VR applications using Unity3D and ARFoundation.

Meanwhile, our project team built a complete story bible, storyworlds, characters, and visitor integration. The goal was simple: to make the technology disappear when it worked. The visitor’s experience mattered more than their awareness of the tool.

What I discovered was the immense potential not just of the technology itself, but of its integration into storytelling. With so many people carrying smart devices, a well-written AR/VR experience can do what books and video games already do: dissolve the boundaries of space and time. Within a transmedia framework, we created an exhibition narrative that could begin the moment someone downloaded an app, in a classroom, a library, or a café, long before they entered the museum. This opened up new possibilities for teachers and educators, allowing them to structure an entire learning journey around a visit.

Not everyone has a degree in contemporary art or science, yet with this approach, visitors could arrive better prepared and leave able to revisit the content afterwards. Imagine the impact if living rooms, cafés, and libraries, the places where people feel most at ease, became extensions of your exhibition, outreach activity, or event. The on-site visit becomes the peak of an experience that started earlier and continues long after.

The potential is immense

The potential is immense for leveraging data, qualitative feedback, and long-term connections with your audience.. The way we design experiences has already changed at a structural level. Habits and processes evolve slowly, but the transformation is inevitable. I’m one of the fortunate professionals who began exploring not just how to use these tools, but how to unlock the magic of their integration. And I look forward to sharing that experience with colleagues and partners.

Visitors experiencing a virtual reality called "pigeons" at a conference.