Funded under the Horizon Europe programme (HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-04), UNICHE aims to deliver an AI-enabled collaborative authoring environment that will allow cultural heritage professionals to design, develop, and share data-driven, engaging storytelling experiences without requiring programming skills.

The UNICHE project aspires to co-design and create an intuitive, technology-agnostic “black-box” platform as a “no-code,” single-entry, collaborative tool for effortlessly designing, producing, and sharing high-quality, interactive cultural heritage experiences. With its user-friendly system, cultural heritage institutions and professionals, researchers, cultural heritage freelancers, and resource-limited players will be able to collaborate and generate high-value interactive content in multiple formats. UNICHE’s platform addresses  in a holistic way the four E’s: Exhibits, Experience design, Exhibitions, and Evaluation processes. UNICHE is part of and integrates with the Cultural Heritage Cloud (ECCCH), being developed by ECHOES, and is aligned with the other ECCCH projects (https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/).

The cultural content and exhibits channeled through the ECCCH are utilized and repurposed in the AI-assisted Experience design process and presented through the Exhibition phase (Onsite, Hybrid, and Remote), in which Evaluation processes are put in place to inform the enhancement of visitor engagement. 

UNICHE’s approach will first be evaluated in pilot scenarios representing diverse cultural heritage settings: open-air archaeological sites, permanent museum exhibitions, and portable exhibitions. It will then be further tested through an open call to third parties, inviting them to use the platform and fostering a community of small cultural heritage institutions and creative industry professionals.