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Dr Helen Southall, senior lecturer within the School of Computer and Engineering Sciences, has been working alongside Professor Katherine Wilson, professor of later medieval European history, and Martin Moss, a VR creator from DextraVisual, to develop interactive 3D environments.
Dr Southall said: “Creating really good VR that works for a wide selection of tourists – considering things like age, languages and disabilities, as an example – might be expensive, and requires specific skills and expertise.
“Smaller regional museums and sites often have vital collections of historic relics and records, and staff who’re highly expert on the relevant historical topics.
“However, they could lack the funds and technical resources to specify or produce enjoyable VR experiences.”
Dr Southall, whose expertise spans computer science, music, and history, began collaborating with Professor Wilson and the university’s history team after completing a PhD project on mid-Twentieth century live dance bands in Chester and North Wales.
Their partnership led to the creation of VR reconstructions of 14th-century Chester, including St John’s Church, funded by an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) grant.
These virtual environments were featured in 2022 exhibitions on the Grosvenor Museum and Chester Cathedral, before being adapted for VR headsets and tested by members of the general public.
Dr Southall said: “With the general public increasingly expecting to see computer game-quality animations as a part of on a regular basis life, there’s a requirement for the technology to be utilized in historical attractions as well.
“Katherine and I realised that there was a niche within the research, and selected to concentrate on how small regional museums and historical sites could make effective use of VR technology, starting with how they may avoid expensive mistakes by running public usability tests early on within the production process.”
She recently presented the team’s findings on the inaugural ARCHERIX (Archaeology and Cultural Heritage through Xtended Reality) workshop on the IEEE VR Conference in St Malo.
Dr Southall said: “I spent a really interesting day hearing about other research on how VR, AR (augmented reality) and other prolonged reality technologies are getting used by researchers from all all over the world, including virtually reconstructing ancient quarries in France, designing a bunch VR activity for learning about life in ancient Rome, and producing a virtual reality training school for gladiators.”
The University of Chester team is now expanding its research with the assistance of PhD student Jess Vining, who’s investigating how historical artefacts might be digitised and made accessible through VR.
Ms Vining is working with Dr Elizabeth Montgomery of the Grosvenor Museum to explore ways of bringing rarely seen objects to wider audiences.
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Dr Southall said: “Jess is taking a look at how museums and historic sites all over the world are increasingly making use of VR and similar techniques, and what works best for regional institutions comparable to the Grosvenor Museum.”
Professor Wilson said: “It is improbable to see the best way the vital subject of history based on historical research might be dropped at life for the general public through these latest technologies.
“We are especially delighted to further make clear the wealthy medieval history of Chester.”
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