The user’s mind is tricked into the sensation of touch
Explorers can feel the cracks in the artefacts and tap them virtually. A Greek jug, dating from circa 500 BC, is among the items that have been digitalised at Manchester Museum
tise objects from collections all over the world, bringing them within literal reach of vast audiences. We’ve also devel- oped a portable version of Probos, so museum masterpieces will be able to travel to schools, colleges, universities and remote communities. The Probos team worked in close col-
laboration with Virtalis’ lead modeller, Tim Goodwin. As the technology was entirely new, there was a great deal of experimentation with the user inter- face to fi nd the best way for people to learn how to operate the system without time consuming instructions. “Trying to design something completely intuitive is bizarrely diffi cult,” admits Goodwin.
THE INSPIRATION The idea behind harnessing touch to enrich visitor experience began in 2002. Having trained in sculpture at the Royal Academy, I realised the importance of the tactile connection. During my training, it became apparent that even touching plaster casts of famous sculp- tures brings you closer to the artist who created it. Touching creates sensory
AM 2 2013 ©cybertrek 2013
connections and emotional memory to aid learning. Digitisation is the way for- ward and the benefi ts for conservation practice, and the heritage sector gener- ally, will be immense. In 2010, I worked with Virtalis to form
Touch and Discover Systems to develop the haptic Probos system. The design brief was to create an inclusive 3D plat- form that enables the public to benefi t from sophisticated haptic technology, engaging three senses – audio, visual and tactile – simultaneously.
THE FUTURE Now that Probos has been established, with a travelling variant for outreach work to schools, colleges and librar- ies, the inclusion of additional museum artefacts from Manchester Museum and other museums is the vital next step. New objects will offer a greater depth
of content, incorporating fi lmed inter- views in which curators introduce and discuss the object, animation and fi lm sequences. The ultimate vision is that entire collections from around the world will be digitised for Probos, giving fas-
cinating insights for both visitors and academics pursuing research. The successor to Probos will give an
even more life-like experience, offering more tactile depth, such as fast/slow friction or vibration, plus new sound clues to actions, location and proxim- ity to objects and surface, as well as further fi nessing the user interface to make it more accessible to all users. At the start of each user session, a new settings function will enable people to establish their personal settings prefer- ences in a way that best suits them. Although I fi rst came across haptics
a decade ago, it was experimental then. I believe we’re going to come across the technology more in our daily lives, with many computers being haptically enabled. If I’m correct in this prediction, then Probos will be a signifi cant techno- logical milestone. ●
Christopher Dean, director Touch & Discover Systems
chris@freeformstudios.co.uk
www.touch-and-discover-systems.co.uk Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital 69
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