Museum. Digital Twin. Use Case

Museum. Digital Twin

**Digital Twin Analysis**

The Problem**

Transitioning a state museum to a digital twin format to reduce budgetary expenditures, globalize access, and expand functionality.

**Technical Advantages**

1.  **Unlimited Space:** Virtual halls can scale, host parallel exhibitions without physical constraints.

2.  **Interactivity:** Exhibits can be animated, supplemented with audio commentary, deconstructed into layers, and used in educational quests.

3.  **Safety:** No risk of damage, theft, vandalism, or wear from light and humidity.

4.  **Global Accessibility 24/7:** The museum can be visited from anywhere in the world without visas, transport tickets, or time restrictions.

5.  **Educational Integration:** Direct subscriptions for universities, programs for schools, remote research for scholars.

**Economic Effects for a State Museum**

*   **Reduction of Budgetary Expenditures:**

    *   Elimination of building maintenance costs (heating, cooling, repairs) – up to 60% of OPEX.

    *   Elimination of costs for physical security, climate control in halls, cleaning – up to 30% of OPEX.

    *   Avoidance of costly logistics for temporary exhibitions (transport, insurance, installation).

*   **New Revenue Streams:**

    *   Paid access for foreign visitors.

    *   Corporate subscriptions for universities.

    *   Partnership programs with educational platforms.

    *   Virtual tickets for exclusive events (curator talks, live-streamed restoration sessions).

**Feasibility Assessment**

1.  **Technologies are Ready:** VR builder platforms, 3D digitization, cloud rendering, CDN.

2.  **Payback Model:** For a medium-sized state museum, annual savings on maintenance could amount to $300–800k, covering digitization and platform licensing costs within 2-3 years.

3.  **Social Impact:** Increased cultural accessibility for remote regions, people with limited mobility, and students.

**Risks and Their Mitigation**

*   **"Aura of the Original":** Mitigated by the expanded capabilities of the digital exhibit and the already established practice of using copies.

*   **Internet Dependency:** Not critical, as internet access is easier and cheaper than physically traveling to the museum.

*   **Piracy:** Does not pose a threat to the business model, as the value lies in the holistic curatorial experience, not in individual files.

*   **Copyright:** Governed by existing norms and licensing agreements.

**Conclusion**

For a state museum, transitioning to a digital twin is strategically and economically viable. The main benefits are:

1.  **Budgetary Efficiency:** Reduction of operational expenditures while increasing reach.

2.  **Global Cultural Influence:** Exporting national heritage via the internet.

3.  **Educational Mission:** Providing unprecedented access for students and researchers.

4.  **Technological Modernity:** Aligning with the digital era, attracting a younger audience.

**Recommendation:** State museums should begin with pilot projects to digitize the most in-demand collections, while simultaneously concluding framework agreements with educational institutions for subscriptions. This will create a sustainable model combining budgetary savings with socio-cultural impact.

**Additions to the Museum Digital Twin Analysis**

**1. Dissemination of Cultural Heritage as a Priority**

*   The primary mission of museums is the preservation and dissemination of cultural heritage. The digital twin maximizes this function by ensuring global access without geographical limitations.

*   The financial aspect (cost reduction, new revenues) is a concomitant effect that ensures the model's sustainability, not its main goal.

*   For commercial museums, the digital platform creates an additional monetization channel without reducing physical attendance (see point 2).

**2. Symbiosis of Physical and Digital Museum (Hybrid Model)**

*   The state does not need to abolish physical museums. The digital twin becomes a complementary solution, expanding the audience and functionality.

*   **The Paradox of Mutual Demand Generation:**

    *   Visiting a digital museum can stimulate the desire to see the originals in person (the "preview" or "demo version" effect).

    *   After a physical visit, a user may purchase paid access to the digital version for in-depth study, repeat visits, or use of educational materials.

*   **Economic Effect:** The hybrid model increases the museum's aggregate revenue (physical tickets + digital subscriptions + cross-sales of souvenirs in both formats).

**Updated Conclusion**

The museum's digital twin is not a replacement for the physical space but expands its capabilities, creating synergy between the two formats:

1.  **Cultural Influence:** Globalization of access to heritage aligns with the original mission of museums.

2.  **Economics:** Reduction of the budgetary burden for maintaining physical infrastructure while simultaneously increasing revenue through digital channels.

3.  **Psychological Effect:** Digital access can serve as a "trigger" for physical visitation, increasing overall traffic and audience engagement.

**Final recommendation for state museums:** Implement digital twins in parallel with existing activities, using them as tools to attract new audiences, provide in-depth education, and create additional revenue streams. This transforms a museum from a local institution into a global cultural hub with a diversified economic model.

**Addendum:**

Large museums publish limited financial data. However, for comparison with a digital museum, I used data from the Louvre—the world's most visited museum—and created a calculation for its hypothetical digital twin.

For ease of comparison, the data is summarized in two blocks.

**The Louvre (Physical Museum, 2023)**

*   **Annual Gross Revenue:** Approximately €211 million.

*   **Net Profit:** Approximately €19 million.

*   **Annual Attendance:** Over 8 million people.

*   **Ticket Price:** €22 (for visitors from non-EU countries).

*   **Geographic Reach:** Limited to visitors who can physically travel to Paris. Queues are a well-known problem.

**Hypothetical Digital Twin of the Louvre (Calculated Model)**

*   **Annual Gross Revenue (Potential):** From $5 million to $1 billion (depending on ticket price and the percentage of the audience willing to pay for it).

*   **Potential Audience:** Global, numbering in billions of internet users.

*   **Pricing Model:** Much more flexible (e.g., $10 annual subscription, $5 single ticket, premium access). The price can be lower, but the audience is hundreds of times larger.

*   **Limitations:** None (no queues, operates 24/7).

**Conclusions:**

1.  The potential profitability of a digital museum could be orders of magnitude higher than the net profit (€19 million) of even the most successful physical museum. With a conversion rate of 0.1% of the global audience (1 million people) and a $5 ticket price, revenue would be $5 million. With higher conversion rates and prices, figures rise to hundreds of millions.

2.  The main advantage is **global reach and accessibility.** Any person with internet access can "visit" the museum, removing the primary growth limitation of physical museums.

3.  A direct comparison is incorrect due to the different nature of costs. The digital museum's expenses are for development, IT infrastructure, and content support, not for security, restoration, utilities, and maintenance of a historic building.

4.  **The issue is not technology, but monetization.** The main task is to create an attractive digital product that a global audience will be willing to pay for. The experience of the Dalí Museum and others shows that demand for digital interactive formats exists.