Smart Museums

Towards the emergence of new museum mediation

Abstract

In this paper, we will show how museums explore the opportunities offered by technologies associated to virtual and augmented realities to make deep transformations towards new forms of ambidextrous organization that we call “smart museums”, able to exploit various technologies to provide visitors stimulating experiences that combine information, entertainment and active participation. We will also present how these technologies contribute to the ephemeral or sustainable digital restoration of artifacts exposed through a reverse engineering process as well as the sustainable digital preservation of World Heritage. Various technical processes are highlighted during the implementation of concrete projects of virtual and/or augmented museums.