Application of ultra-realistic communication research to digital museum

National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) is conducting ultra-realistic communication research since 2006. The aim of the research is to create a sense of "being there" for natural and realistic communication by developing 3D image display, 3D auditory display, multisensory interaction system with vision, sound, touch and smell, and evaluation technologies of human cognitive dynamism[Inoue 2010]. Digital museum is regarded as a good application of the research, but the potential is not clarified yet. This year, we had a chance to investigate the potential by exhibiting developed systems and allowing users to experience them. A multisensory interaction system and other systems related to digital museum were exhibited for 5 weeks as a prototype of digital museum. In this paper, the exhibited systems and the evaluation results are introduced.