First metaverse cultural exhibition launched in Thua Thien-Hue

This groundbreaking project involves a collaboration between the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre and Phygital Labs to digitally identify 10 artifacts from the Nguyen Dynasty located in the Hue Royal Antiquities Museum. These identified artifacts now play a central role in the country’s inaugural metaverse cultural exhibition space, seamlessly integrated with Apple Vision Pro technology.

The Hue Monuments Conservation Centre, in partnership with the Thua Thien Hue Centre for Information Technology (Hue CIT), is leading the way in incorporating technology into cultural heritage management.

As part of this project, 10 carefully selected Nguyen Dynasty artifacts have been equipped with NFC chips and Phygital Labs’ Nomion technology. Visitors can now interact with these artifacts using their smartphones, unlocking a wealth of information. These chips offer multidimensional experiences, providing detailed historical accounts, origins, cultural significance, and even 3D images.

Moreover, the project goes beyond basic interactivity. Nomion technology offers a significant advantage over traditional QR codes by using encryption to secure data and prevent counterfeiting. This ensures a secure and unique link between the physical artifact and its digital counterpart.

Additionally, Blockchain technology verifies ownership of the digital versions, creating valuable digital assets from physical artifacts.

The selected artifacts offer a captivating glimpse into the Nguyen Dynasty, including a throne, a palanquin, royal slippers, decorative golden branches and jade leaves, and a set of xiangqi.

With a mission to promote Vietnamese culture globally and tap into the digital heritage economy, Phygital Labs has established the first metaverse cultural exhibition space at museehue.vn. This immersive platform allows users to explore the digitally identified artifacts in 360-degree detail, immersing them in an authentic historical and cultural setting.

The exhibition space is equipped with Apple Vision Pro integration, embracing the latest XR technology advancements from Apple and Meta. This enables the HMCC and Phygital Labs to offer metaverse museum tours, showcasing Vietnam’s rich heritage to a global audience, particularly the millions of users of Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest devices worldwide.

The Hue Monuments Conservation Centre is dedicated to expanding its digital offerings by creating topic-based digital museums through artifact scanning and photography. This will allow global visitors to enjoy an experience akin to a physical museum visit, complete with layouts, colors, and immersive sounds.

“The immersive digital exhibition offers a revenue-generating opportunity with a digital customer base hungry for engaging cultural and historical content”, stated Nam Do, Director of Technology at Phygital Labs. “We aim to sell tour tickets and certified replica artifacts, promoting global cultural awareness and bolstering Vietnam’s cultural industry development.”

This project showcases how innovative technology can be leveraged to preserve and share cultural heritage, opening up new possibilities for a digital economy model in the cultural sector./. VNA