September 25, 2025: a landmark date for the French cultural sector. On that day, the Forum des images hosted the launch of the beta version of Métavers des musées, a pioneering project that transposes the museum experience into an interconnected 3D universe. At the heart of this technological innovation, Télécom SudParis contributes its cutting-edge scientific expertise, the fruit of three decades of research into 3D representation, compression and reconstruction.
A large-scale project supported by France 2030
Métavers des musées is one of a handful of projects selected in the " Digitization of heritage and architecture " call for projects, funded by the French government as part of France 2030. The consortium includes Manzalab, École polytechnique, Muse'X, Forum des images and Télécom SudParis, with each partner contributing its own specialty to create a unique cultural experience.
The challenge goes beyond simple digitization. As Marius Preda, senior lecturer at Télécom SudParis and recognized expert in 3D technologies, explains: " The aim of this day is not only to publicize the project, but also to federate and expand the community of digital content and immersive 3D professionals around its scientific themes and cultural practices. "
Scientific excellence at the service of cultural innovation
Télécom SudParis plays a key role in the technological dimension of the project. The research team involved in the project draws on recognized expertise in 3D representations, developed over more than thirty years. This scientific competence enables us to transform physical works of art into digital representations of the highest quality.
The digitization process developed by the researchers uses advanced photogrammetry to capture not only the shape of heritage objects, but also their color and texture properties with remarkable precision. " We are working on new 3D representations to avoid the 'video game' effect and offer a visual quality as close to reality as possible," explains Marius Preda.
This technical approach responds to a major challenge: how to preserve the authenticity of the cultural experience in a virtual environment. Innovations developed by Télécom SudParis, notably recent "Gaussian Splats" representations, enable us to achieve a level of visual realism that exceeds the usual standards of mainstream 3D.
A complete and accessible technology platform
The technical architecture of Métavers des musées illustrates the innovative capacity of the French ecosystem. Télécom SudParis has developed a complete digitization platform where each partner museum has personalized access. Institutions can upload their photos, generate 3D models of their works, view them online from all angles, then integrate them into their personalized virtual space on Manzalab's Teemew platform.
These technical platforms, while automating complex processes, provide a solution to a recurring problem in the cultural sector: how to democratize access to advanced 3D technologies without requiring special technical expertise.
Rethinking the museum experience in the digital age
The project explores fundamental questions about the evolution of cultural practices. " The question is how to complement a real experience with a virtual one, or how to provide access to museums around the world that would be impossible to visit physically," emphasizes Marius Preda.
This reflection is accompanied by research into usage, studying, for example, the comparative interest of group visits versus individual visits, or the impact of free access to cultural data. The research aims to objectivize these questions through concrete experiments.
The virtual environment we have developed supports multi-user interaction, enabling group visits to be guided by museum professionals present in the virtual space. This feature opens up new perspectives for cultural education and museum mediation.
Promising industrial prospects
The September 25 event provided an opportunity to gauge the sector's interest in these innovations. Live demonstrations convinced professionals and visitors alike of the project's technological maturity. As Marius Preda commented: " We've demonstrated that the technology is operational. It ' s now up to each museum to imagine how it can be integrated into its offering.
This technical validation opens up significant commercial prospects. The cultural digitization market is experiencing sustained growth, stimulated by public policies for heritage preservation and changing public expectations. The solutions developed by the Métavers des musées project team respond precisely to this growing demand.
The heterogeneity of the museum sector in terms of technological adoption represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Some establishments have already massively digitized their collections and are ready to experiment with new exhibition formats. Others, more conservative, require a gradual approach. This diversity of approaches offers different deployment models for the technologies developed.
Technological innovation continues
Beyond the immediate success of the project, Télécom SudParis is continuing its research to further improve the basic technologies. The 3D reconstruction algorithms are constantly being optimized to simplify the digitization process and enhance the fluidity of the user experience.
This process of continuous improvement characterizes the scientific approach, as Marius Preda confirms: " Practically every 10 years, we propose new technological advances to meet the new needs of digital culture, within the framework of collaborative partnerships with players in this ecosystem ".
Other resources :
IP Paris and Manzalab combine their expertise to reinvent the immersive museum experience
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