Jonathan Swift – A Mixed Reality Application for Trinity Library’s Long Room
18th November 2020
In our first paper on the cross-reality Jonathan Swift project, Jonathan Swift: Augmented Reality Application for Trinity Library’s Long Room, we describe the project’s use of cutting-edge volumetric video (VV) for developing content for our augmented reality (AR) prototype. The article traces the evolutionary process from concept, through narrative development, to completed AR prototypes for a head-mounted display (HMD) and a handheld tablet device. It concludes with some reflections on the affordances of the various hardware formats and posits future directions for the research.
A Case Study on the Use of Volumetric Video in Augmented Reality for Cultural Heritage.
With interest in the use of AR rapidly growing alongside advances in visual display and 3D reconstruction technologies. With the integration of VV, AR can be enhanced with representations of live-action actors. In our paper A Case Study on the Use of Volumetric Video in Augmented Reality for Cultural Heritage, we present an exploratory case-study of our museologically focused AR application that evaluated the various parameters affecting the overall experience for visitors of the Long Room in the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin. Employing the volumetric 3D representation of Jonathan Swift, the benefits of applying VV in AR for a cultural heritage use-case scenario were explored. Moreover, we compared our two AR platforms for this prototype application: a tablet (iPad) and an HMD (Hololens). For this purpose, we collected post-task opinions of the application and processed quantitative and qualitative data. The results highlighted differences between the two platforms and showed how the developed VV AR application was initially received by the users. You can check out our full NordiCHI ’20 presentation below.
Volumetric Video in Augmented Reality Applications for Museological Narratives: A user study for the Long Room in the Library of Trinity College Dublin.
XR technologies are quickly establishing themselves as commonplace platforms for presenting objects of historical, scientific, artistic, and cultural interest to the public. In this space, AR is notably successful in delivering cultural heritage (CH) applications, including architectural and environmental heritage reconstruction, exhibition data management and representation, storytelling, and exhibition curation. Generally, it has been observed that the nature of information delivery in applications created for narrating exhibitions tends to be informative and formal. In Volumetric Video in Augmented Reality Applications for Museological Narratives: A user study for the Long Room in the Library of Trinity College Dublin we report on the assessment of the pilot scene as a prototype AR application that attempts to break this mold by employing a humorous and playful mode of communication. Our bespoke AR experience harnesses the cutting-edge live-action capture technique of VV to create a digital tour-guide that playfully embellished the museological experience of the museum visitors. This applied research paper consists of measuring, presenting, and discussing the appeal, interest, and ease of use of this ludic AR storytelling strategy mediated via AR technology in a CH context.
Outputs:
O’Dwyer, N., Ondej, J., Pagés R., Amplianitis, K., and Smolic, A. (2018). Jonathan Swift: Augmented Reality Application for Trinity Library’s Long Room. In: Rouse R., Koenitz H., Haahr M. (eds) Interactive Storytelling. ICIDS 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 11318. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04028-4_39
Young, G. W. (2019). Demonstration of the Jonathan Swift Experience: An augmented and virtual reality application for TCD’s Long Room library [Interactive AR Experience]. The 13th Annual Irish Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Conference, National University of Ireland, Galway.
Zerman, E., O’Dwyer, N., Young, G. W, and Smolic, A. (2020). A Case Study on the Use of Volumetric Video in Augmented Reality for Cultural Heritage. In: Proceedings of the 11th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (NordiCHI ’20), Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Tallinn, Estonia. https://doi.org/10.1145/3419249.3420115
O’Dwyer, N., Zerman, E., Young, G. W, Smolic, A., Dunne, S., and Shenton, H. (2021). Volumetric Video in Augmented Reality Applications for Museological Narratives: A user study for the Long Room in the Library of Trinity College Dublin. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage (JOCCH), 14(2), 1-20. https://doi-org.elib.tcd.ie/10.1145/3425400