Natural interaction in VR environments for Cultural Heritage and its impact inside museums: The Etruscanning project

Virtual Reality (VR) applications for cultural heritage often struggle to engage the public effectively. This study introduces a novel approach using natural interaction interfaces based on body movements, inspired by gaming but tailored for VR environments dedicated to cultural heritage. The research, part of the Etruscanning project, focuses on recreating and restoring the original context of Etruscan graves, specifically the Regolini Galassi tomb in Cerveteri's Sorbo necropolis. By defining a new grammar of gestures that facilitates natural interactions between real and virtual worlds, the study aims to enhance user engagement and immersion. Public feedback from museum installations over several months informed iterative improvements to the VR application, leading to more efficient and effective solutions for users.

Pietroni, E., Ray, C., Rufa, C., Pletinckx, D., & Van Kampen, I. (2012). Natural interaction in VR environments for Cultural Heritage and its impact inside museums: The Etruscanning project. 2012 18th International Conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia, 339–346. https://doi.org/10.1109/vsmm.2012.6365943