Installation of VR in Air and Space Museum
Juan Rodriguez
New Jersey City University
EDTC803: Data Analysis and Report Writing
Dr. Amerman
July 29, 2020:
Installation of VR in Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum, located in Washington DC, opened its current location on the National Mall in 1976. Before that, it was known as the National Air Museum that was opened in 1946 (Shin, 2018). This museum is one of the most famous museums in the country. The museum is run by the Smithsonian. It attracts more than six million visitors annually, and according to Statista.com (2019), it is one of the most visited Smithsonian museums. What makes the museum such a wonderful place to visit is the availability of the different artifacts that are on display.
One of the problems that I see with the museum is that you cannot touch the artifacts. There are some artifacts that you can walk into like an old German Luftwaffe airplane, but the fresh stuff you cannot even touch with your hands (Jeff, 2020). There is no doubt that the museum affords a lot. They have discussions panel, short movies that will give you the history of the different artifacts, and they even have a small space simulator for kids. To solve the difficulties that are encountered in the museum. The adoption of new technology that helps new visitor that visit the area to get more understanding of the collections within the museum. The purpose of this technology is more to make the concepts more accessible.
The use of VR brings a unique experience in an exhibit of total emersion (Barbosa, 2020). The purpose of the VR technology has also posed a significant challenge in their usage due to introduction of new gadgets and technical speak. It is fascinating to use it since it takes into account the 360-degree video form. The Virtual realities, as it sounds, it brings a lot of experiences such as bringing scenes to life, the creation of Museum tours and making the exhibits interactive. The museum has been able to bring an extra dimension to its collection through the aid of virtual reality technology.
The VR has essential experience in the museum through the use of the animated image, interactive design (Hepperle, et al .2019) and sound help users to discover panting details such as panel wood texture and how it has the way it looks by the passage of time. The VR headset gives a great experience to the user and the visitor of the museum that makes them feel as if they are stepping inside painting, which indeed is a great experience to make them wish to come again. The visitors have the opportunity to look around and find themselves within the scene and look around the museum using 3D perspectives.
The use of VR machines and technology is one of the options that contain surround sound, which promotes an atmosphere that is very exciting for the visitors coming. VR, with its sophisticated features and technology it plays a significant role in enhancing the great experiences in the modern museum. An excellent example of these concepts has been tested in Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute, which they launched in the year 2006. The installation of virtual reality experiences helps to get deep expertise far edges of the outer space and also inside the human body. The attractive adventure on people who visit the museum can use VR to wholly immerse. From the research, it is clear enough to say that introduction of VR exhibitions brings a lot of transformations to the way visitors view the world.
This will help all kids of all ages to enjoy the visit and experience within the museum. They could come and learn about avionics, engineering, the weather, math, and science. It will help students with auditory or visual issues since the screen will be 360 degrees and the sound will be in stereo. I think that this is something that can work in the museum. You can charge extra to use since it will be expensive to produce. A discount can be given for schools, non-profit, and large groups.
On the feasibility factor, I can advise the museum to be very keen on the cost factor since it is one of the limiting factors in the implementation. Buying the virtual reality equipment and their installation is costly and cost-benefit analysis is virtual to be conducted. Management and designing of the VR equipment is a challenge, and I would advise the museum to take note of it while considering its installation. The repair cost of broken headpieces and payment for the designing of bespoke. Pokal described how hard it was for Aukland War Memorial Museum after installation of VR, where 15 headsets were broken within a few weeks.
Hygiene factor is another area that I would advise the museum to monitor since different people use the VR headsets within a day, and it can put visitors under health risk. Things like grease, skin, and air can quickly build-up, which can create a potential avenue for causing infections. The museum should employ many staff to clean these gadgets and making disposable hygiene masks.
The museum should also consider the sickness simulation issue. The first experience of using VR can bring about nausea-inducing and first-time experience of VR unsettling. This is brought by the disconnection between the virtual world and the physical body that the mind is immersed in. The symptoms may be like eyestrain, vomiting, disorientation, headache, and vertigo
One of the things that I would like the museum to use is to integrate VR into its exhibits. Imagine being able to fly in the space shuttle or help the Wright Brothers start the famous Kitty Hawk plane. Become a gunner for a WW 1 flying ace or attempted to land the Space Shuttle. It’s almost like stepping into a time machine and going through different decades of aviation. It could inspire the next generation of flyers and engineers. Using VR to film re-creation of specific historical moments in aviation and having the user being part of the experience. One of the first things needed is quality equipment. The first and most vital piece of equipment is the camera. We will need a Jaunt One camera. This camera has 24 synchronized global shutter sensors that make it useful in its operation.
It can capture up to 120 fps, and it can also cover an area all around you with its stereoscopic 360-degree coverage. It has up to 8K resolution per eye after processing. It has remote camera control, dynamic exposure adjustment for high dynamic range, and live monitoring. The price of this camera is costly and it goes at about $95,000 in the global market (B&H, 2020).
Conclusion
Due to advancements in technology and globalization, there has been an increased use of mobile phones, which have provided an opportunity for educational institutions to use in imparting knowledge. Mobile learning, which is one of the ways through which the institutions have embraced technological change, has made it possible for students to take learn when in different locations with each other and also far from the instructor. The approach has made it easier to teach. The mobile learning approach is less expensive compared to the traditional means of teaching. The M-learning has a significant impact on the learning process which addresses challenges faced in learning institutions
Figure 1
Janut One Camera
The next piece of equipment that you will need to get is one that will record sounds. You need a robust microphone by the name Tetra Microphones (CORE, 2020). It is four microphones where one can determine where the sound comes from in 360 degrees of the room. You can then use the sound to sync up with the video should give you a complete surround-sound experience.
Figure 2
Tetra Microphones
(Image from: Core Sound -. https://www.core-sound.com/default.php)
The next piece of equipment we will need is a VR headset. I picked the Oculus Quest. The reason I chose this is because it is wireless, has room-scale VR with high-resolution displays and two controllers. There is no need for a computer or a gaming console. The visitors to the museum could download the app and be able to pick which scenario that they want to be in.
Figure 3
Oculus Quest
(Image from: https://www.oculus.com/quest/?locale=en_US)
The use of VR can open a world of adventures. All it takes is some imagination, creativity, and talent and we can soon be go back in time and be a witness and a participant to history.
References
Barbosa, A. (2020). Oculus Quest in Stock At Oculus And Amazon. Retrieved 27 July 2020, fromhttps://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-quest-in-stock-at-oculus-and-amazon/1100-6476020/
B&H. (2020). Jaunt ONE VR camera now available for purchase… for $95,000 | Camera Jabber. Retrieved 27 July 2020, from https://camerajabber.com/jaunt-one-camera-price-available-purchase/
CORE, S. (2020). Core Sound — TetraMic. Retrieved 20 June 2019, from https://www.core-sound.com/TetraMic/1.php
Hillmann, C. (2019). Comparing the Gear VR, Oculus Go, and Oculus Quest. Unreal for Mobile and Standalone VR, 141-167.
Hepperle, D., Siess, A., & Wölfel, M. (2019). Staging virtual reality exhibits for bystander involvement in semi-public spaces. Interactivity, Game Creation, Design, Learning, and Innovation.
Shin, J. (2018). Displaying Cold War Technology: The National Air and Space Museum, 1946-1976.