A generative approach to virtual museums using a new metadata format

This thesis addresses the extension of a new modeling language for virtual 2D/3D museums, the Virtual Museum and Cultural Object Exchange Format (ViMCOX). ViMCOX supports the hierarchical description of virtual museums and provides stylistic devices for vivid exhibition designs (spatial design, illumination concepts, interactive exhibits and virtual tours), which cannot be achieved using classic museum metadata standards. A generative metadata-based modeling approach serves as interface for authoring tools, 3D content generation and demonstrates content re-targeting for different rendering platforms and I/O peripherals as well as virtual reality projection systems like Cave Automatic Virtual Environments (CAVE). Metadata requirements for digital museum environments are elaborated and the diversity of curator tasks and general exhibition design stages are reviewed. These findings are utilized to develop frameworks and workflows to assist curators in designing virtual exhibitions. This thesis concludes with a full development cycle of a virtual museum guided by art history experts. Final evaluations in the lab and on-site, during a three month real museum exhibition, are presented.