To date, virtual reality technology has been promoting a new concept of museums and exhibition spaces dedicated to art in the virtual dimension.

These spaces, designed to exploit the potential of VR, operate on multiple levels of perception, engaging various sensory activities and offering an immersive experience that goes beyond mere contemplation of the artwork.

 Can a virtual artistic experience replace a real one?

A neuroaesthetic study conducted by BrainSigns in collaboration with Vincenza Ferrara’s Lab of Art and Medical Humanities and Professor Maurizio Forte from Duke University analyzed the differences in the experience of observing the Sarcophagus of the Spouses, an ancient Etruscan terracotta funerary artifact dating back to between 530 and 520 BC.

The research compared two distinct contexts: the live observation of the artifact at the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome, and the virtual experience in the Art and Medical Humanities Laboratory of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine at the University of Rome “La Sapienza.”

To analyze the data, researchers used EEG technology to assess cognitive engagement and interest, along with devices to measure heart rate and galvanic skin response to evaluate emotional states. The devices were provided by BrainSigns together with the results of a short questionnaire.

Regarding cognitive engagement and emotional index, both were higher during the museum observation compared to the laboratory setting. However, the interest index showed higher values in the virtual context.

Results of the cognitive engagement index, emotion and interest in the two contexts

In the questionnaires, the virtual reality experience was rated as significantly more familiar.

Although observing the Sarcophagus of the Spouses in the museum elicits deep emotions, also thanks to the evocative atmosphere of the museum setting, it is interesting to note that the virtual experience stands out as being more engaging and, as highlighted in the questionnaires, more familiar. This may also be attributed to the fact that the details of the environment appear sharper and more accessible, free from physical barriers such as display cases in museums. In some ways, the VR experience feels more intimate and exclusive.

Article written in collaboration with some students of the degree course Biomedical Scientific Communication at the Sapienza University of Rome with reference to: 

Giorgi, A., Menicocci, S., Forte, M., Ferrara, V., Mingione, M., Alaimo Di Loro, P., Inguscio, B. M. S., Ferrara, S., Babiloni, F., Vozzi, A., Ronca, V., Cartocci, G. (2023). Virtual and Reality: A Neurophysiological Pilot Study of the Sarcophagus of the Spouses. Brain Sciences. 13. 635. 10.3390/brainsci13040635.

At the ADI Design Museum, the international jury of the XXVIII Compasso d'Oro ADI Award conferred an Honorable Mention for Mindtooth Touch to designers Marika Aakesson and Francesco Della Monica, along with the companies BrainSigns and Brain Products GmbH.

This recognition celebrates the focus we placed on the design, form, style and ergonomics of the Mindtooth system, which enables mental state measurement without requiring advanced technical expertise.

At the 5th International Neuroergonomics Conference in Bordeaux, France (https://bit.ly/3WtVmOt), the Mindtooth system has been employed during the scientific workshop “Neurophysiological assessment to enhance neuroergonomics in operational environments” and hosted at the Brain Products GmbH booth.

The demonstration highlighted the system's ability to evaluate human mental states (e.g. workload, stress, vigilance) during driving tasks, testing the potentiality of neuroergonomic assessment to enhance security. Indeed the demo’s goal was to illustrate how monitoring users’ mental states can enhance safety and reduce risks during driving (e.g. lack of vigilance, or distraction).

The Mindtooth system was featured at the Maker Faire 2024 in Rome, the European event on technological innovation. Stress and workload neurometrics were integrated into virtual reality, developed by Myndek, for adaptive automation.

Visitors had the opportunity to experience live virtual reality and neurofeedback: through the "Mindtooth Touch" device, the difficulty level of a task in virtual reality was possible to adjust based on the user’s brain activation level.
The experiment sparked curiosity and great interest among visitors to the Health & Wellbeing area, giving demo participants a glimpse into the future.