Post on 22-Jan-2018
(VIRTUAL) REALITY BITESA tale of hype-fuelled hope and hardship
Version 0.1
Feb 21, 2017
Nils PokelDigital Experience Manager
Auckland Museum
@nilscreates
@aucklandmuseum
Sub resolve
A boldstatement.
https://https://www.google.com/trends/explore?q=%2Fm%2F07_ny/166807261
Google Search Trends - 02/2017
Google searches for ‘Virtual Reality’ over the last 5 years
Image source: Gartner
Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2016
‘mainstream adoption’
Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2016
…think of smartphones today.
What could‘mainstream adoption’look like?
Get ready for a change in visitor behaviour and expectations.
Wearables are the new frontierof BYOD.
Accept AR and VR as an additional endpointin the near future.
Start planning for it now.
A realistic first person perspectivehelps people connect emotionally.
VR is an‘EmpathyMachine’.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2016/apr/27/6x9-a-virtual-experience-of-solitary-confinement
6x9 : A virtual experience of solitary confinement
VR enables full immersion.
http://vhil.stanford.edu/soae/
The Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-virtual-reality-
can-help-us-feel-pain-climate-change-180960918
Taking visitors to a different time or place.
VR overcomesphysical constraints.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH1AvqYXwHQ
Rhomaleosaurus: Back to Life in Virtual Reality #PreviouslyOnEarth Google Arts & Culture
Showing objects at scale. Bringing them to life.Placing them within context.
Visitor Market Research has shown a very positive uptake at Auckland Museum.
Our visitorsloveVR.
Image: Auckland Museum
Air New Zealand VR flight lab experience at Auckland Museum
Objects, curation, storytelling & experience design
Core museum disciplines translate well into VR.
Bespoke applications.Expensive hardware.Hard to integrate.
Onsite VR is technologically challenging.
Image: Auckland Museum
Gallipoli in Minecraft exhibition , 2014
Headsets require ongoing maintenanceand change out.
VR hardware is not suitable for high-traffic environments
Image: Auckland Museum
Oculus HMDs after a few weeks in the gallery
Mostly single-user experience.Tethered & seated. Needs a safe environment.
In-gallery VR can be difficult.
https://www.oculus.com/legal/health-and-safety-warnings/
Oculus Rift Health & Safety Warnings (excerpt)
‘Sim sickness’DisorientationDisconnection from bodyAccessibility
Visitors may struggle with VR
http://mashable.com/2017/01/31/grandma-vr/#kKqptBDZjmqP
‘Grandma freaks out after putting on virtual reality goggles’ - Mashable
Considerable build up of lint.
Potential to spread contagions.
VR can be unhygienicin a high-traffic environment
Image: Auckland Museum
Lint build-up in VR headsets over just a few weeks
Manufacturer’s warnings should be part of risk assessment.
Health & Safety is a concern.
https://www.oculus.com/legal/health-and-safety-warnings/
Oculus Rift Health & Safety Warnings (excerpt)
Let us embrace it.
AR/VR is here to stay. And it will grow.
A collaborative project between Auckland MuseumMicrosoft MSA students and Datacom
Exploring HoloLens: HoloCano
Image: Auckland Museum
Microsoft Student Accelerator participants discussing the HoloCano app for HoloLens
HoloCano
Experiment and plan for ‘mainstream adoption’.
My advice: Get in there!
Tentative ‘No’.
So: Is VR going to kill Museums?
THANK YOU.
Version 0.1
Feb 21, 2017
Nils PokelDigital Experience Manager
Auckland Museum
@nilscreates
@aucklandmuseum