Museum of Antiquities rich media
About
the project
UNE’s Museum of Antiquities was re-opened in 2025, a project led by Bronwyn Hopwood (museum curator and senior lecturer at UNE). Our team supported the project by creating digital media items that augmented physical artefacts displayed in the museum. Users can scan QR codes next to the artefacts, which triggers web content they can then view on their phone. The web content included:
- An augmented reality model of the Antikythera Mechanism, allowing users to view the mechanism from different angles.
- A series of six ‘animated paintings’ where users could watch short, humorous animations that further explored interpretations and meaning.
- A series of ten animations demonstrating different mechanical principles (such as gears, ratchets, cam shafts)
Antikythera Mechanism
The Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient Greek analogue “computer” of sorts (circa 100 BCE), predicted astronomical positions, lunar phases, and eclipses using intricate gears and advanced mathematical cycles.
The Learning Media recreated this object in a 3D environment ready to use augmented reality to view the object in your own space.
Animated paintings
Three out of six displayed
(sound disabled)
A digital recreation of Al-Jazari’s Peacock Fountain — a sophisticated hand-washing device with humanoid automata offering soap and towels.
(sound disabled)
An anthropomorphised clock-jack, or jaquemart, is a mechanical human figure (automaton) that strikes the time on a bell. (c. 1680)
(sound disabled)
A 3D recreation of an artist’s drawing of the Digesting Duck (Canard Digérateur). The original automaton was unveiled in 1764.
How has rich media
enhanced this project?
The integration of rich media has profoundly enhanced the UNE Museum of Antiquities project by transforming traditional artefact displays into dynamic, interactive experiences. Through QR code-triggered web content, visitors can engage with augmented reality models, such as the Antikythera Mechanism, gaining a deeper understanding of its intricate design and astronomical functions by exploring it from multiple angles. Animated paintings and mechanical principle demonstrations further enrich the experience, blending education with entertainment to provide accessible insights into historical interpretations and engineering concepts.
This fusion of physical artefacts and digital media not only captivates audiences but also bridges the gap between ancient ingenuity and modern technology, fostering a more immersive and memorable connection to history.
Mechanical principles
Three out of ten displayed animations shown.
A 3D animation of a music box mechanism — a rotating cylinder with pins that pluck tuned teeth of a steel comb to produce music.
A 3D animation of a cam mechanism — a rotating or sliding piece that converts motion to drive levers or followers in precise sequences.
A 3D animation of the Geneva drive — a gear mechanism that produces intermittent rotary motion, often used in clocks and film projectors.
