Virtual museums are a concept that was coined and popularized during the 2020 pandemic, as cultural institutions around the world had to face the problem of making their heritage available to all those interested people who at the same time they could not leave their homes and physically go to their facilities and see their works on display.
That is why during this period of confinement there was an explosion of the use of new technologies in order to digitize pieces, collections and even entire exhibitions in order to share them on the Internet and in this way deliver them to all homes with a connection. This is how what we know today as “virtual museums” were born.
“Virtual museums” are extensions of the traditional museum institution to the Internet and social networks. Currently, having a good online visibility is essential for any entity in which the dissemination of its knowledge is one of its main challenges. In an increasingly globalized world, the information managed by museums cannot be restricted to just their four walls, but their challenge must be to overcome these physical barriers and reach all possible corners of the world. This is where new technologies and different specialized online platforms (such as Sketchfab) come into play to achieve this goal. Today, the applications of virtual museums are as follows:
1. Documentation:
The creation of virtual museums allows museum institutions to make an updated and accessible record of those pieces and collections present in exhibitions, galleries, warehouses and installations in general. Having digitized pieces on the Internet offers museums a very simple and quick way to manage their heritage holdings.
2. Conservation:
The creation of digital twins of any type of piece exhibited in a museum (using photogrammetry or laser scanner) allows museum professionals to protect those most delicate goods since their copy can be consulted by visitors via the Internet, virtual reality, augmented reality or even be 3D printed in order to have a physical duplicate in situ at the exhibition while the original object is kept in another protected place and with the best possible conditions for its conservation.
3. Restoration:
In restoring a piece, it may be interesting to have several digital duplicates of the same piece at different times in order to analyze the state of the object, the result of the latest conservation measures applied, the evolution of possible existing pathologies (loss of paint, cracks,…),… Faced with this situation, it can be of great help for professionals in the conservation and restoration of heritage assets to have digital twins of the pieces to work in order to have a reference base on which to operate and make the best possible decisions.
4. Diffusion:
The possibility of being able to create a 3D model of each of the pieces in a museum means that the physical barriers disappear and that therefore the institution does not have to worry about expanding its facilities, creating new spaces, etc. ·place more showcases,… At the same time, this means that the goods that a museum treasures and the values they have can be consulted and learned from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. Accessibility to heritage is the flagship of virtual museums.
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