Exploring the Intersection of Virtual Reality and Haptic Technology to Aid the Interpretation and Interaction with The Thornhill Collection of East Asian Ceramics

With a rise in the use of Virtual Reality (VR) applications in museums and exhibition displays, digital heritage has shown limitations in what a visitor can experience from the intersection of technology and history. Traditionally, historical content has been communicated through text panels which limit access to the broader context of artefacts. These modes of disseminating contextual information remain in place throughout many cultural institutions, and although they have been complimented by the installation of digital media to facilitate visitor interaction, there are very few examples which engage multisensory immersion.

Through practice-based research, this paper aims to explore haptic-enabling technologies to disseminate a greater understanding of historical objects through multi-faceted modes of interpretation. It examines new methods of communicating historical information, to provide innovative solutions to increase visitor engagement with ceramic objects.

This research digitally reconstructs selected objects from a collection of East-Asian ceramics bequeathed by Ernest Thornhill in 1944 to North Staffordshire Technical College (now Staffordshire University) to create an immersive virtual museum space that provides interactive content to acquire contextual information on a selection of Thornhill ceramics.

This VR experience has been developed to engage the viewer beyond the traditional viewing formats and utilises object analysis frameworks adapted to enhance the foundations of interpretation within a museum context. This research aims to develop an application that increases visitors’ interest with museum collections which are often neglected by a contemporary audience. Through an amalgamation of sensory experiences, it deconstructs cultural information into a range of related narratives and aims to enhance a visitor learning experience through an alternative digital exhibition that integrates haptic technology. From an evaluation of visitor satisfaction using quantitative surveys, evidence revealed a significant positive response to this application in a museum setting. Responses revealed these methods of interaction assisted in learning about ceramics and demonstrated how such methods could encourage a high likelihood of future visits.

This research contributes with a developed and tested concept to expand on existing digital heritage methodologies, with regards to introducing a consistent workflow and playable application to view artefacts virtually. This concept explores integrated methods that permit novel interactions to allow for the visual acquisition of information.

This research has revealed a gap in knowledge related to haptic-enabling devices offering sophisticated virtual interactions with ceramics to enable alternative methods of combining interaction with concealed displays. These novel interactions remain absent in many cultural institutions. This research demonstrates how Virtual Reality and haptic-enabling technologies can communicate information visually and interactively to enhance the museum visitors’ experience beyond the traditional text panel.