ARtifact is based on the second generation ARt portal technology, with content that can be changed out from museum to museum, exhibition to exhibition, or gallery to gallery.

Many museums have a lot more artifacts in storage than they have space to show on the museum floor. Other items are fragile and kept behind glass, where they can only be seen from one side. Still others have moving parts that are to delicate to allow the public to experience. All of these problems can be solved with augmented reality.

Sometimes there are things inside the object that would be nice to see, like a skeleton or structural armature because it’s hidden by the skin or shell of the object. Augmented reality can help the museum patron see the inside of a lacquer box, the skeleton of an intact specimen, or even invisible or microscopic structures like molecules and dna.

Targets can either accompany or stand in for the object, in the form of a photograph or drawing, a symbol that represents the object, or an abstract marker such as a QR code, bar code, or VuMark. These targets can be put on display alongside similar objects to bring up an augmented reality scene that creates a context for the item on view, or a display can be created to create a context for the object that can only be seen through augmented reality.

ARtifact had been designed with space for museum or exhibition branding, viewing of the object, object name or title, space for a (scrollable) description of the object, and catalog information for those who might want to do more research.

We can either incorporate your content into the ARtifact app, or we can develop a version that more closely meets the needs of your museum’s mission and collection.