Microsoft Hololens, a holographic technology which started a few years ago, is a great innovation in augmented reality applications. It can be used to mix real and virtual world and thus it is a very important part for reviving our cultural heritage. Microsoft Hololens can revive cultural heritage monuments and make the users feel that they are actually a part of the virtual world and that they live in it. With Microsoft Hololens the user can interact with virtual characters, enter a virtual holographic world etc. .
Specifically, in Microsoft Hololens the user interacts with a virtual curator through gestures and voice commands. Via specific words the user can select the type of transformation (translation, rotation, scale) that would like to apply to the virtual curator. After selecting the type of transformation via speech commands the user performs the manipulate gesture to apply the selected transformation to the holographic priest. Microsoft Hololens provides full body tracking and it is partially immersive since it combines virtual and real world.
Apart from that, as it is stated above, Microsoft Hololens can be used to simulate actual monuments. Also, it can be used in museums to further improve the users’ experience in various ways. Some project have been made about reviving the cultural heritage with the use of Microsoft Hololens. In a specific project, for instance, this holographic technology is used to inform the user in order to start a virtual tour. Particularly, a hologram of the goddess Isis appears which gives instructions to the user about 4 different paths (each with a unique color) in the museum. Each path represents a specific topic (Architecture, Relocation, Traditions and Origin). The users select and follow the path, whose topic interests them more and alongside this path they encounter animations, photos, text and videos which are relevant to the topic of that path. Another project example is the virtual priest of Asinou church. The hologram of the priest interacts and speaks to the users (with the help of Microsoft Hololens), giving them a virtual tour of the Asinou church, a cultural heritage monument located in Cyprus.
The holographic technology that Microsoft Hololens presents, is an outstanding element which has got high potentials for reviving our cultural heritage and for making the visits to museums more fun and interesting.
Links:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens
https://hololens2016.weblog.tudelft.nl