Hi Tom,
Last year The Postal Museum won some money via Innovate UK's Audiences for the Future competition.
We partnered up with ScanLAB Projects, as well as two accessibility consultants to explore and prototype ways to increase access to our Mail Rail attraction. We had 12 workshops with 3 workgroups, divided broadly into participants with physical disabilities, those who were blind or partially sighted, and those with sensory sensitivities. With each group we explored the Mail Rail space, and together we appraised the technology (from basic VR all the way to Oculus Rift/Vive) and 360 projection. We built two prototypes of a 360 facilitated experience with laser-scanned 3D visualisations, with features that enabled participants to stop and explore the visualisations in depth. We also tested a 1:1 guided tour of the actual Mail Rail tunnels and platforms for our blind and partially-sighted workgroup. The workshops were brilliant and led us to discuss ideas of autonomy of experience and the need for shared social immersive experiences.
This project has formed the foundation for a new project to build a new immersive experience that we hope will provide an equitable experience for those visitors unable to ride Mail Rail for accessibility reasons. It's also going to lead to new ways to explore Mail Rail without having to visit London - using the technology to take Mail Rail on tour. The intention is for our work with the participants to lead to different ways to engage with our collections and the stories we tell, not simply new or novel digital attractions.
Martin Devereux
Head of Projects and Partnerships
The Postal Museum
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