Xplore Museum

2023.04.01-2025.12.31

This work was supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) as part of the 2025 Culture Technology (CT) R&D Project: ‘Development of a Real-Virtual Linked Digital Open Storage and Integrated Conservation Management System for Collections’.

Research Background

• Evolution of Storage Function: As the role of museum storage evolves from a focus on safe custody and preservation to an “open storage” model that facilitates sharing and utilization, there is a growing need for solutions that address the increasing visitor demand for active engagement tailored to individual preferences.

• Paradigm Shift in Museums: With domestic and international museums transforming into complex cultural spaces that offer holistic experiences, there is a critical requirement to develop on-offline integrated services that enhance the accessibility and utilization of art collections.

Research Objectives

To develop and demonstrate a visitor-participatory digital open storage system. This project aims to move beyond passive viewing by providing diverse experiential services that facilitate the sharing and utilization of art collections.

  1. Development of an Open Storage Learning Support Service utilizing a Digital Curator.
  2. Development of a Collection Experience Service leveraging the Digital Storage Archive.

Research Contents

StorageChat

Developed three types of learning support services specifically for open storage museums. By utilizing Multimodal Generative AI, these services enable visitors to engage in personalized inquiry and exploration of contemporary artists and their artworks.

StorageChat Collection

StorageChat Curator

StorageChat Glasses

VisionStorage

Developed three types of collection experience content based on Extended Reality (XR) technology. Leveraging the museum’s collection archives, these contents aim to transform the visitor experience from passive viewing to active immersion.

VisionStorage Theater - Lee Jungseop

VisionStorage Theater - Park Sugeun

VisionStorage Classroom

Research Contents

StorageChat Collection

“Conversing with over 9,000 MMCA Artworks”

Conversational AI + Immersive Media Wall Service for Exploring over 9,000 MMCA Artworks

StorageChat Collection utilizes large-scale media walls and conversational AI to provide a personalized, interactive experience. It allows visitors to immersively explore and engage with over 9,000 artworks from the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) collection.

Researchers: Wheesung Kim, Hyebin Seo, Sihun Lee, Chungnyeong Lee, Jongmin Jung

StorageChat Curator

“Navigating the Flow of Contemporary Art with an AI Curator”

XR Experience with an AI Curator

StorageChat Timeline is an immersive interactive service powered by conversational and image-generative AI, designed to assist visitors in appreciating contemporary art. Guided by an AI Curator, users can easily understand the evolving characteristics of contemporary art across different eras, including experimentalism, abstraction, and conceptualization. The service also allows for in-depth exploration of representative artists and artworks in Korean contemporary art.

Researchers: Chaeyeon Lee, Chungnyeong Lee

StorageChat Glasses

“A Personal Dialogue with Art: Smart Glass Docent”

Smart Glass-Based AI Docent System

Utilizing smart glasses and generative AI, this system recognizes artworks directly in front of the visitor and provides personalized commentary through interactive dialogue. It serves as a personalized exhibition guide, leveraging visitor location data and personal devices to deliver a tailored museum experience.

Researchers: Jongyoon Lim

StorageChat Gallery

VisionStorage Theater - Lee Jungseop

“Encountering the Life and Art of Lee Jungseop through Immersive Content”

Immersive XR Content: Experiencing the Life and Artistic World of Lee Jungseop

This XR documentary is a novel form of immersive content developed for Apple Vision Pro, capturing the life and artistic world of the renowned modern Korean painter, Lee Jungseop. Visitors immerse themselves in his artistic vision and the profound familial love imbued in his masterpieces. This experience transcends the act of simply ‘watching’ a documentary, offering a new dimension of engagement where users can deeply resonate with the emotions of the artworks and the artist’s life.

Researchers: Dasom Kim, Melodie Jannau, hyunji kim

VisionStorage Theater - Park Sugeun

“Encountering the Life and Art of Park Sugeun through Immersive Content”

Immersive XR Content: Experiencing the Life and Artistic World of Park Sugeun

This XR documentary is a novel form of immersive content developed for Apple Vision Pro, capturing the life and artistic world of the renowned modern Korean painter, Park Sugeun. Visitors immerse themselves in his artistic vision. This experience transcends the act of simply ‘watching’ a documentary, offering a new dimension of engagement where users can deeply resonate with the emotions of the artworks and the artist’s life.

Participating Company: Cyberhype

VisionStorage Classroom

“Vividly Experiencing MMCA Cheongju’s Hidden Spaces and Artworks through XR”

Immersive XR Content: Exploring MMCA Cheongju

Powered by Apple Vision Pro™, this service utilizes XR technology to provide an immersive learning experience. Users can explore and appreciate the hidden spaces and artworks of MMCA Cheongju through videos, 3D content, and interactive elements.

Researchers: Sangah Lee, Jaewon Choi, Hayoung Bae, Dayoung Lee

Demo Video

Demonstration

Through the 3rd-year demonstration conducted at MMCA Cheongju, XR and AI-based smart museum services were showcased to general visitors, and valuable user experience (UX) data was acquired.

  • Duration: Sept. 9, 2025 – Nov. 12, 2025 (10 Weeks)

  • Location: MMCA Cheongju

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Satisfaction Survey Results

Publication

S. Lee, J. Choi, H. Bae, D. Lee, J. Kim, S. Kim and Y. Choi, “VisionStorage Classroom: MR-Based Educational System for MMCA Cheongju Korea,” 2025 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct (ISMAR-Adjunct), Daejeon, Republic of Korea, 2025, pp. XX-XX, doi: 10.1109/ISMAR-Adjunct.2025.XXXXX.

J. Lim, J. Kim, S. Kim and Y. Choi, “Towards Mixed Reality AI Docents: Egocentric Smart Glasses with Vision and LLM Interaction,” 2025 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct (ISMAR-Adjunct), Daejeon, Republic of Korea, 2025, pp. XX-XX, doi: 10.1109/ISMAR-Adjunct.2025.XXXXX.

D. Kim, M. Jannau, Y. Choi, S. Kim and J. Kim, “Lee Jungseop XR: A XR Documentary for Apple Vision Pro,” 2024 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct (ISMAR-Adjunct), Bellevue, WA, USA, 2024, pp. 650-651, doi: 10.1109/ISMAR-Adjunct64951.2024.00194.

Chaeyeon Lee, Chungnyeong Lee, Sangyong Kim, Yongsoon Choi, and Jusub Kim. 2025. StorageChat Timeline: A Generative AI-Based Art Appreciation System for Enhancing Immersion and Exploratory Experience. In Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’25). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 921, 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706599.3721349

Sogang University | Department of Art & Technology | R&D Team

연구책임자

김주섭

공동연구원

최용순, 김상용

프로젝트 매니저

김휘성

StorageChat team

김휘성 | 이채연 | 임종윤 |서혜빈 | 이충녕 | 정종민 | 이시훈

VisionStorage team

이상아 | 김다솜 | Melodie Jannau | 김현지 | 최재원 | 배하영

사이버하입(곽선근, 김준하, 고혜림) | 이다영

Special thanks

정지은(국립현대미술관) | 정재임(국립현대미술관) | 신수민 | 윤수련

오명석 | 오선재 | 박민준 | 우수연 | 김도헌 | 유주명 | 핸디킴

자문

박수근 연구소 | 이형기(서강대학교) | 김학진(크론)

류동현(한국예술종합학교) | 허나영(목원대학교) | 이보아(중앙대학교)

박재연(아주대학교) | 이정진(리움미술관) | 이태희(국립중앙박물관)

유원준(영남대학교) | 정연심(홍익대학교)

Performing Organization

Participating Research Institution

Lead Research Institution

Hosted & Organized by

Client Institution

Contact

email: wheesung@sogang.ac.kr