From Digital Representation to Virtual Reality: An Interactive Experience of Industrial Heritage

In recent years, digital technologies have transformed the field of Cultural Heritage (CH), extending beyond cataloguing and documentation to enhancing experiences and dissemination. Extended Reality (XR) solutions have introduced innovative ways to engage with CH. This study presents the design of an Interactive Thematic Virtual Environment (ITVE) for experiencing industrial archaeological heritage via the Meta Quest 3 VR headset. The focus is a historic industrial site in San Severino Marche, Italy, dating back to 1927. This site was pivotal in using electricity for industrial purposes and generating hydroelectric power. The development of the VR experience followed a three-phase workflow. The first phase involved digitally surveying the site with a Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) and panoramic camera to create high-resolution 360° images. This data formed the foundation for the virtual environment. The second phase focused on designing a thematic narrative structure, borrowing methodologies from the entertainment industry. Five scenes were created: an introduction, three central scenes highlighting historical machinery and materials, and a concluding scene reviewing the plant’s operation. All multimedia content—text, audio, panoramas, and 3D models—were integrated into the game engine Unity 3D to build an interactive VR experience. Users navigate the content through a 3D console, unlocking scenes sequentially. Showcased at the Wunder Kammer Marche exhibition (June 1 to July 31, 2024), the VR experience is tailored for both children and adults. Finally, in the third phase, usability tests were conducted during the exhibition to evaluate the actual effectiveness of the developed tool.