Heritage 2.0

In 2007 the research project 'Heritage2.0' started in Flanders, Belgium. In this project research groups and heritage organisations in Flanders will do research on a social, interactive, location-based heritage experience via mobile devices within a network of heritage sites. An often heard critique on the use of ICT in a heritage context focuses on the individualized nature of the experience. The innovative aspect of this project lies specifically in the focus on the importance of social interaction within a cultural experience. The objective is to link that interactive component to a digital environment. The project aims to enrich the visitors' experience, both during their real visit as well as in the pre and post trajectory.

The specific technical and/or scientific results that are key to this project, are:

• The development of a metadata- and data exchange model for the Flemish heritage sector, starting from existing (heritage) standards and with inclusion of existing social software applications practices and their bottom-up data description. This part of the research constitutes the foundation for a new form of heritage experience (concerning content-combination) and situates itself on the level of database and metadata.
• Research on the required network technology to pass location-based information within the specific context of Flemish heritage-sites. The stipulation of the most optimal network configuration is not evident because of the sometimes exceptional conditions on the sites (big concrete walls, old buildings, ?). The development of a generic system for the automatic generation of context and visitor related data and for the transformation of these data into appropriate contents and interfaces tailored to specific user profiles. This research must lead to user interfaces that are created on-the-fly ?during use' and that can adapt according to the individual preferences and the context-of-use. This personal user interface must also extend toward a group concept where multiple visitors are linked together and where social interactions play a significant role.
• The development of a generic system for the automatic generation of context and visitor related data and for the transformation of these data into appropriate contents and interfaces tailored to specific user profiles. This research must lead to user interfaces that are created on-the-fly ?during use' and that can adapt according to the individual preferences and the context-of-use. This personal user interface must also extend toward a group concept where multiple visitors are linked together and where social interactions play a significant role.