The use of virtual and augmented reality in cultural heritage interpretation : the case of Malta

Abstract

This dissertation examines why virtual reality and augmented reality have not been widely taken up in Maltese museums to date. This slow uptake is consistent with the wider pattern in museums world wide, which is widely off the mark of predictions made between the late 1990s and the early 2000s by a number of users of these technologies (Feiner, 2002; Renfrew, 1997), even though the potential benefits of these technologies seemed to be self-evident. After reviewing the current literature on the use of these technologies in the context of cultural heritage, the present study addresses a number of salient questions. Why have these technologies not been taken up yet? What is the level of knowledge that curators have about currently available, and emerging technologies? Is there a level of apprehension towards their introduction in museums in Malta? Is there enough of a discussion happening between the relevant fields? While the present study is confined to the case of Malta, some of these questions and concerns may have wider, even global, relevance today. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with curators of a number of museums in Malta, and also IT professionals who had some experience in the application of virtual reality and augmented reality to cultural heritage. The main findings were that while respondents were generally aware of virtual reality and its applications, very few knew what augmented reality was, and its potential in the context of cultural heritage. The reasons and implications of these findings are discussed.