Project Overview
Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality (XR) are rapidly expanding mediums, but few realize that they have a very long history of development emerging out of early prototypes by research labs, artists, and inventors. These early decades of XR development have not yet been comprehensively archived and exhibited. In some instances, it is possible to access research papers and other documentation about these projects which can give a general sense of their functions.
But what if we could actually visit those early labs virtually, learn more about these pioneering efforts, and experience what these prototypes were really like?
Objective
The Immersive Archive is focused on developing simulations that restore and exhibit XR devices and visions throughout immersive media history. Similar in concept and function to a Film Archive or Internet Archive that collect, restore, and conserve a wide range of media, the objective here is to provide users an interactive, first person, immersive experience of the XR medium throughout its evolution, with links to a rich context of historical background and archival materials for deeper exploration.
