Azure Kinect body tracking character creator

The visitor stands in front of a screen. Two portraits of lords of the castle are shown on the screen. The visitor can select a lord of the castle by effectively moving his hands and clicking on it virtually. Once chosen, the visitor can dress up a character with items of clothing from the lords of the castle. Each choice is commented via audio. It is in this way that the visitor gets to know the characters better.

Virtual Reality escape room

​For some prototypes, specific attention was paid to historical stories and events. How can Immersive Technology help to tell these stories in an interactive way? Can we make visitors feel like they are part of this? Allowing them to discover the story themselves through certain interactions without presenting it to them ready-made?
Deze vragen gaven, in combinatie met enkele van de ideeën die tijdens de brainstormsessies werden geopperd, aanleiding tot de ontwikkeling van twee prototypes waarbij role-playing, groepsbeleving, interactiviteit, gameplay en Storytelling centraal stonden.

Hololens interactive MR castle projection

Maria-Anna van den Tempel came into possession of Horst Castle by chance. Owning the castle gave her the opportunity to fully develop her status. As Countess of Haultreppe and Essenbeek, she certainly already had some status, she also had the necessary connections within the Brussels court nobility, but because of the work she had carried out at the castle, she seized the opportunity to move up the social ladder to stand. It was Maria-Anna who had the castle adapted to the standards and comfort of the 17th century. Characteristic of Maria-Anne is the fact that she herself spent very little time effectively in the castle. Much of the work and maintenance of the castle was coordinated by her landlady, Wilhelm Piret. At the time of Maria Anna, the castle was really a small company where everyone had their own task and where everything could be immediately prepared if necessary to receive Maria-Anna and her high visit.​

AR Poetry experience

When the visitor is in the outer zone of the castle, he can look around by means of an Augmented Reality application. In the virtual world, the visitor can see how the garden staff maintain the garden. The tasks of the staff play out in an infinite loop.
​Dit is een metaforische verwijzing naar het feit dat het personeel er altijd voor zorgde dat het kasteel er piekfijn uitzag en dat het werk nooit ophield, maar dat Maria-Anna, de kasteelvrouw in kwestie, slechts enkele keren op het kasteel heeft verbleven. Om de beleving kracht bij te zetten, wordt een bijpassend gedicht voorgelezen.​

VR Tracked interactable objects

​One of the questions asked during the research concerns the possibilities of Immersive Technology for bridging the gap between the physical and virtual world. Can we preserve the character of physical objects and enable interactions in the virtual world that are otherwise impossible? Very often we see beautiful museum objects in closed display cabinets, we see beautifully illustrated books under glass domes, historical weapons under lock and key and so much material that is invisible in the archives. How can we still give the visitor the chance to hold these objects, to let them use these objects or to enable interaction with the objects?

AR Book page tracking

Hidden away in the Sint-Janshospitaal in Bruges is one of the oldest preserved pharmacies in Belgium. On the central counter, kept under a glass dome, is the Winckelbouck of Sister Eléonora Verbeke. It is an imaginative document that will make your hands itch to leaf through it yourself and to copy the recipes yourself.

Scan4Stories

Today’s heritage visitor is looking for unique experiences. To shape these experiences, strong stories and technological innovation are essential. However, there is no clear frame of reference for how to successfully combine both elements. Scan4Stories tries to provide an answer to this challenge. Scan4Stories is a TETRA project in which HOWEST’s Tourism and Recreation Management and Digital Arts & Entertainment programs collaborate. The project builds knowledge about Storytelling and explores the technical possibilities of Immersive technologies such as Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality.

Cultureel erfgoed analyseren met AI

During this study day for specialists in cultural heritage, several experts explain how they apply artificial intelligence to analyze cultural heritage and make it accessible. What is possible today, and what does the future hold? Are there dangers? Moderator Bart Magnus from Meemoo will lead the dialogue.