Unlocking the Future of 3D Through Open Solutions: XRculture Workshop at Europeana 2025

Members of the XRculture team attended the Europeana Conference in Warsaw on 11–12 June 2025. Peter Bonsma (RDF), Vangelis Nomikos (TALENT), Alexandru Stan (IN2) and Ágota Szilágyi (IN2), showcased the project across various programme elements. We hosted a stand in the foyer, engaged with conference participants and held a workshop dedicated to our middleware protocol. We also contributed to multiple panel discussions. This blog post offers a closer look at the workshop.

Taking place on the first day of the conference, our workshop welcomed more than 40 participants in a hybrid format, both in-person and online. It provided an opportunity to explore XRculture’s approach to 3D web viewing and publishing in more detail, with a particular focus on the ongoing development of open middleware for cultural heritage.

Alexandru Stan began the workshop with an introduction to the project, outlining the main goals, challenges and use cases addressed by XRculture. This was followed by Marco Medici (Inception), who joined remotely to present the broader context and rationale behind the middleware. He discussed the current limitations of 3D management, the concept of middleware and the value that such a layer could offer cultural institutions. He also explained the central role that middleware plays within the XRculture project.

Next, Peter Bonsma (RDF) provided a technical overview of middleware development. He walked participants through existing examples of 3D online viewers and services, and then introduced the XRculture middleware components that are currently being developed. His presentation covered supported formats, functionality, required services, workflows and the features of the online 3D viewer and desktop application.

The presentations were followed by a co-creation session. Participants were divided into two groups and took part in a structured discussion about three key steps.

The session generated valuable input for the ongoing design and development of the middleware, informed by the real-life experiences of users in the cultural heritage sector.

A recording of the presentations is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5buaGmTd4Iw&ab_channel=EuropeanaEU.





Credits: Photos by Sebastiaan ter Burg. CC BY 2.0