Exploring the Impact of Bidirectional Interactions Between VR and SAR on Cultural Exhibition

Virtual Reality (VR) technology has transformed cultural exhibitions by enabling immersive experiences. To create a shareable VR experience for cultural exhibitions, some research has integrated VR with other devices. However, existing approaches may suffer from unidirectional interactions, making it difficult for users to modify or influence VR content, which negatively impacts the user experience. To address this issue, a VR collaborative exhibition system based on Spatial Augmented Reality (SAR) is proposed in this study. Using Liangzhu culture as a case, the system allows users to immersively explore cultural heritage through VR while projecting VR content into public spaces via SAR for synchronous viewing from a global perspective. The system supports bidirectional interactions to enhance participation and improve the user experience in VR exhibitions. Furthermore, a comparative study involving 16 participants was conducted to evaluate the impact of the proposed system on collaboration efficiency, cognitive load, and user experience. The results indicated that the proposed system demonstrated significantly higher collaboration efficiency than the screen sharing-based VR exhibition system. Participants reported that it had a lower cognitive load and a better user experience. The interviews further confirmed the user preference for it.