Reality as Imagined: Design and Evaluation of a TeleAbsence-Driven Extended Reality Experience for (Re) Interpreting Urban Cultural Heritage Narratives Across Time
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Visitors to Urban Cultural Heritage (UCH) often encounter official narratives but not the imaginations and relationships shaping its intangible aspects. Existing immersive experiences emphasize historical realities, overlooking personal and collective imaginations that shift with rapid development. To address this, we designed an Extended Reality (XR) experience around eight Hong Kong landmarks, enabling transitions between virtual and mixed-reality environments where users explore UCH narratives across past, present, and future. These narratives integrate (1) historical documentation with 360° visualizations and (2) images created in workshops supported by Generative AI tools. A mixed-method study with 24 participants examined their experiences and reflections. Results revealed deep immersion in both real and imagined worlds, as well as personal reinterpretations of UCH. This work demonstrates how XR can blend reality and imagination within one immersive experience and highlights design implications for archiving human imagination as an intangible form of cultural heritage.
Authors: Yaning Li, Sirui Wang, Ximu Sun, Lei Yang, Tingting Zhu, Yuexi Chen, Ke Zhao, Yiqing Zhao, Meng Li, Ray Lc
Language: English
Subfield: Human-Computer Interaction
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Award: G3112274642
OpenAlex ID: W4414292007