Realistic Natural Interaction with Virtual Statues in X-Reality Environments

Abstract

Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality have successfully transitioned from the laboratory environment to becoming mainstream technologies available to almost everyone, mainly due to important advancements in terms of hardware. These technologies, along with recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence, have the potential to deliver compelling experiences. In the Cultural Heritage domain, they can be used to achieve natural interaction with virtual statues, making visitors feel as if physical statues "come to life" and can engage in dialogue with them. This paper presents the fundamental technological components towards this vision and how they can be orchestrated through the description of a conceptual architecture and a use case example. Open research issues are also discussed, providing a roadmap for future research in this area.