Extending X-reality technologies to digital twin in cultural heritage risk management：A comparative evaluation from the perspective of situation awareness

Abstract

Digital twins possess characteristics such as real-time capability, high precision, and high integration. The digital twin system for cultural heritage risk management includes comprehensive information about heritage, contextual data, and expert knowledge. Considering the role of Situational Awareness (SA), it facilitates more efficient risk assessment, analysis, and strategic decision-making for management personnel, thereby reducing damage to cultural heritage.This study extends X-reality technologies into the digital twin system for cultural heritage risk management. It simulates three sets of procedures for remote risk management of cultural heritage (2D desktop, VR, and AR) and explores the effectiveness of VR and AR in enhancing situational awareness from three dimensions of SART (SART-DAR, SART-SAR, SART-UOS). Additionally, we further analyze how the technological attributes of VR and AR (immersion and interactivity) impact the functional mechanism of situational awareness.The results indicate that, compared to the traditional 2D desktop, VR and AR have advantages in enhancing situational awareness of heritage risk. However, in AR mode, SART-DAR and SART-SAR dimensions did not show significant improvement. Furthermore, there is a significant difference in immersion's impact on the SART-DAR dimension. Regarding interactivity, although the results show differences in the impact on the SART-DAR dimension between VR and AR, no significant differences were observed.This study provides design references for building a digital twin system for cultural heritage risk management by deeply understanding the impact of X-reality technologies on the functional mechanism of cultural heritage risk situational awareness. Simultaneously, it offers insights for heritage site managers, heritage experts, and relevant stakeholders to enhance efficiency in risk perception.