As mentioned in an earlier post by Michael Klein the Ars Electronica Center (Linz, Austria)  showcases the latest VR, AR and MR technologies. In addition to applications by filmmakers and animators as well as artistic approaches, the VRLab of the Ars Electronica relates the history of virtual and augmented reality’s development. What did 18th-century spatial illusions look like, how did we progress from the stereoscope to the Oculus Rift, and in which directions will VR and AR be advancing in days to come? The VRLab provides insights into these questions.

One example worth mentioning here is the House of Medusa. More than 2000 fragments of Roman mural paintings were discovered and recovered during an archaeological emergency excavation prior to the construction of a car park in Enns in the year 2000. The paintings were part of a vaulted ceiling with associated wall decorations and significantly broaden the knowledge of this art form in Roman Austria. The VR installation, developed by the Playful Interactive Environments research group at the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences’ Hagenberg Campus and in collaboration with the Federal Monuments Authority Austria and the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, consists of four virtual workstations and displays fragments of the Roman frescoes. Visitors can individually experience and “walk through” an interactive 3-D model of the House of Medusa. In addition the team focused on the cooperative element in conjunction with head-mounted displays—also in the context of exhibitions to ensure that museum visitors experinece their VR experience as a shared experience.

See the trailer: