Page 195 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report

enable users to interact with the cultural object, ensuring they learn as the content, while of a high standard, is presented from an approach that is both entertaining and rational. This makes it possible to go beyond the bounds of the academic world and present it to a non-spe- cialised audience.Although digital technologies are an educational resource whose growth has been boosted in recent years, there is a glaring shortage of speci c audience studies on the use of cultural applications. In-depth analyses are needed to appropriately evaluate the transmission of the digital content provided in heritage contexts.Virtual reality and augmented reality are cur- rently the most popular resources on accountof their representational and immersive charac- teristics, which make for an e cient cognitive experience and a highly realistic relationship with the cultural object.Nevertheless, although virtual reality and augmented reality have been applied since the outset to disciplines such as archaeology, where we nd the most signi cant examples, they have yet to be extended to other periods andelements of historic heritage in which there are considerably fewer experiences currently.In the eld of heritage dissemination thereare still technological limitations that prevent state-of-the-art devices (smartphones, tablets, smartglasses...) from o ering an ideal degree of realism in heritage representations, which are often not very attractive. This means that the major potential of virtual reality and augmented reality applications is still at an embryonic stage, though they have major possibilities and account for much of the research currently being carried out in this eld.Judging by the cases and examples examined, digital technologies in the heritage eld are not necessarily taking the place of traditional means of conserving and disseminating heritage but are a major ally for the actors involved in these tasks, namely sector professionals, society and heritage itself.Finally, the role digital technologies can play asa highly versatile tool for sector professionals largely depends on the trials and research carried out to test their potential.AC/E DIGITAL CULTURE ANNUAL REPORT 2017195The use of digital technologies in the conservation, analysis and dissemination of cultural heritage