The Augmented Reality Virtual Viking

Design and development of an AR application featuring an animated virtual Viking. The experience was available on a public kiosk positioned near the Rowing Vikings activity and the dress-up area at the traveling exhibit Vikings: Beyond the Legend . Visitors interacted with the digital character and were able to sent a screenshots via email.

Client: MuseumsPartner Exhibit Producers

• Fun and Engaging Interaction

  The virtual Viking is a realistic 3D model complete with sword and shield. The character design was closely curated by the National Museum of Denmark. Guests had fun scaling the model and composing original scenes for the screenshots.

• Supporting Data Collection

  Visitors sent unique screenshots through the application and could opt-in to a mailing list, adding their contact information to the museums' database and expanding the institution's audience.

• Exploring Old Norse

  The virtual character is animated and speaks a couple phrases of encouragement in Old Norse. The Old Norse translation and narration was performed by the Director of Nordic Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Stimulating the Visitor's Imagination

The Virtual Viking experience was strategically positioned close to the dress-up area, where visitors could try on Viking-inspired outfits and reenact impromptu scenes with the digital character.

Originally designed to support the Rowing Viking activity, where visitors test their skills with real oars rowing a Viking longboat, the software proved to be equally enjoyed by guests over at the Viking outfits area. The interface includes a camera for screenshot of the interaction, and a section on the language expands on the knowledge of Old Norse, the language spoken by the Vikings.

The experience was a tremendous success and a favorite among guests of all ages, with over 25,000 emails sent by visitors of the traveling exhibit.