INTEGRATION OF HBIM, XR AND BEACONS FOR CULTURAL MEDIATION OF HISTORICAL HERITAGE: THE CASE OF “AL-QUARAOUIYINE MOSQUE” IN FES

Abstract. The mediation of cultural heritage is a significant concern in the field of history and culture valorization. Technologies such as HBIM (Historic Building Information Modeling), XR (Extended Reality), and Beacons offer highly promising solutions that have demonstrated their value in various heritage-related applications, namely 3D reconstruction, documentation, restoration, preservation, and mediation. The primary objective of this paper is to propose an approach that combines HBIM () and XR (), integrating Beacon sensors to create a rich cultural mediation experience. Our approach is based on an HBIM model of the site, enriched with multi-source semantic information stored in a NoSQL database. It also leverages Beacon sensors to deliver historical content related to the study site (Mosque Al-Quaraouiyine) based on the user's position, thereby providing a cultural mediation experience within an XR environment. This study resulted in the creation of an HBIM model of the study site, the integration of a MongoDB database for storing semantic data, the utilization of the Unity SDK to retrieve this data, and the deployment of Beacons for user position detection within the XR environment. These advancements led to the display of contextual historical and multimedia information through interactive panels, offering a rich and interactive experience. The added value of this project lies in its innovative combination of several modern technologies to provide an educational and immersive experience to users, while also paving the way for future developments towards the dissemination of cultural information based on new technologies.