Augmented Reality: What Are We Talking About?
Augmented reality (AR) overlays digital elements (images, animations, texts, sounds) onto the real-world view, typically via smartphone, tablet or AR glasses. It differs from VR in that it enriches rather than replaces the real world.
Concrete Use Cases
- Site reconstruction: overlay a demolished building onto its current ruins
- Collection mediation: point a phone at a painting to see underlying sketches, X-rays, or restoration layers
- Creative workshops: students "complete" fragmented works or create animations from collection objects
- Signage and navigation: overlay navigation arrows, multilingual content based on visitor language
Real Constraints
Tracking stability: varies with lighting conditions. Accessibility: WebAR (no app download) strongly preferred over native apps. Maintenance: AR experiences age quickly; plan a maintenance budget.
Where to Start?
The right approach isn't "which AR tool?" but "which mediation problem do we want to solve?" Technology comes last, not first.
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