A closer look at the technology, methodology and standards behind the Digital Mining Museum.
The Platform — Web-Based Access & Immersive Technologies
The Digital Mining Museum is built as a web-based platform, accessible directly through any modern browser without the need to install dedicated software. This design choice ensures the widest possible reach — from academic institutions to local schools and the general public — regardless of the device or operating system used.
How the Virtual Tour Works
At the heart of the museum is the interactive virtual tour, currently featuring Livezeni Mine. Users can:
- Navigate freely through 360° photographic environments captured on-site
- Click on hotspots within the tour to access contextual information, archival documents, photographs and historical facts linked to specific locations in the mine
- View 3D models of machinery, infrastructure and underground spaces, rendered directly in the browser using WebGL-based technology
- Explore at their own pace, without a fixed sequence or time limit
The platform is optimised for desktop and laptop use for the full interactive experience. Tablet and mobile browsing is also supported for viewing and navigation.
VR & AR Compatibility
The museum is designed with immersive technology compatibility in mind. The virtual tour environment supports use with VR headsets (such as those compatible with WebXR standards), allowing users to experience the mine in an immersive, first-person perspective. This makes the museum suitable for classroom VR sessions, museum kiosks and outreach events. Augmented Reality (AR) features are under consideration as part of future development phases.
Integration with University Research and Student Projects
The Digital Mining Museum is not only a public heritage resource — it is also an active research and teaching tool embedded within the HI-EURECA-PRO academic network.
University Collaboration
The museum is developed in close collaboration with partner universities and research institutions involved in the HI-EURECA-PRO project. This integration means that:
- Research outputs — including digitised materials, 3D models and oral history recordings — are produced through supervised academic work and student projects
- Students from heritage, engineering, history, digital humanities and related fields can contribute directly to the museum’s development as part of their coursework or theses
- Researchers can access higher-resolution datasets and archival materials for academic use, supporting work in areas such as industrial heritage, cultural preservation, regional history and digital documentation methods
A Living Research Infrastructure
Rather than a static repository, the museum functions as a living infrastructure that grows alongside ongoing research. New content is added as digitisation campaigns, fieldwork and community engagement activities are completed — making it a genuine reflection of active scholarly work rather than a fixed archive.
Data Sources and Preservation Standards
The content of the Digital Mining Museum has been gathered, processed and published in accordance with established digital heritage and open science standards, ensuring long-term accessibility, reliability and reusability.
Data Sources
The museum’s collections draw from a range of primary and secondary sources, including:
- On-site 360° photographic capture of mine environments, conducted by the project team with access to active and decommissioned heritage sites
- 3D scanning and modelling of machinery, structures and selected underground spaces
- Archival digitisation of historical documents, engineering drawings, maps and photographic collections held by local institutions, municipalities and former mining enterprises
- Oral history recordings gathered through structured interviews with former miners, engineers and community members from the Jiu Valley region
- Institutional contributions from partner universities, regional museums, local authorities and heritage organisations
Preservation and Quality Standards
All digital materials are processed and stored in line with recognised international standards for digital preservation:
High-resolution master files are preserved alongside the web-optimised versions displayed in the museum
Metadata is recorded for each item following established descriptive standards (including Dublin Core and domain-specific heritage metadata frameworks), ensuring discoverability and long-term reusability
Open access principles are applied wherever possible, in alignment with the open science commitments of the Horizon Europe programme
Data integrity is maintained through structured workflows that track provenance, rights and versioning of all digitised materials