THINK INSIDE THE BOX

THINK INSIDE
THE BOX

an IMPULSE event organized by K8
in cooperation with HBKsaar in the context of CYANOTYPES and HAMLET

THINK INSIDE
THE BOX

Hackathon, Workshops,
Lectures and XR Studio Sessions

THINK INSIDE
THE BOX

an IMPULSE event organized by K8
in cooperation with HBKsaar in the context of CYANOTYPES and HAMLET

Hackathon, Workshops,
Lectures and XR Studio Sessions

THINK INSIDE
THE BOX

CREATING IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES
WITH DIGITAL CULTURAL HERITAGE

IMPULSE Pre-Hackathon

Feb 10-12, 2026 | CoHub, Saarbruecken, Germany

IMPULSE research explores new ways of creating immersive experiences of Europe’s (digital) cultural heritage - this hackathon offers an opportunity to co-develop concrete use cases

SCHEDULE DOWNLOAD

WHEN

Over two days, small teams will meet in five co-creation sessions to develop and prototype ideas.

WHO

Anyone interested in cultural heritage and/or immersive technologies, no special skills are required.

WHAT

During the hackathon, participants will have the opportunity to use cultural heritage data sets to develop use cases in multidisciplinary teams. XR Studio Sessions offer all teams an introduction to our approach to XR (using the term “extended reality” to include augmented, virtual, and mixed reality approaches) as well as the Motion Hub, the studio K8 has designed for immersive experience research and development. Use case development will be supported by K8’s methodology for immersive experience design, a simple framework to structure complete XR workflows.

MOTION HUB

WHY

The February hackathon is anchored in the Impulse project. Involving members of the Impulse research project as well as research partners from related European research projects, it offers an opportunity for practice-based research and prototyping.

All of these projects engage with the shifting frameworks that affect cultural heritage work. These frameworks include technical conditions such as artificial intelligence and XR technology stacks, regulatory aspects like access to open data and a wide range of open technologies, and conceptual or philosophical perspectives regarding the meaning of openness and immersive experience.

When we design immersive experiences, what we can do is framed by a broad range of factors. As we try to “think inside the box” of immersive experience, these factors change our work - and possibly rewrite existing rules of the game as they transform the XR ecosystem.

As AI challenges established practices of open data sharing, open and low cost digital assets are becoming increasingly available; open source software facilitates analysis of textures for physically-based rendering (PBR); image generators now create professional-grade seamless tiles; and worldmaking has become the development trajectory of AI-based image generation more generally (Midjourney will lead to interactive spaces, Marble already explores it, SIMA 2 populates it with agents).

While open data was once considered inherently beneficial as a technical advancement, the conversation has now shifted. The central concern is who can actually make use of open data, and with what capacities. Large AI providers dominate this landscape, effectively undermining the original public value orientation of open data by being the only actors capable of monetizing these resources. As a result, creative practitioners and cultural heritage stakeholders are excluded from new data-driven value creation processes. As a consequence, more assets are made available.

Through work on XR use case development, the hackathon builds on and expands a research conversation that continues to explore a series of shared concerns:

1. What might the future of open data culture look like, given the increasing capabilities of open source software and the simultaneous challenge posed to open data philosophies by AI?

2. How can we redesign the way we create value in response to new technical conditions?

3. How do we address the need for professionalization and education on XR to better be able to “think inside the box” of immersive experience, integrating technical competencies and a deeper understanding of data-driven value processes ?

EXPANDING THE EUROPEAN DEEP TECH CONVERSATION

Artists and designers have remained marginal to the European conversation on the future of the continent’s deep tech ecosystem. This needs to change - creatives need to be part of the systems design conversation.

The IMPULSE project can be directly connected to larger European frameworks, such as the ECHOES project, the European Collaborative Cultural Heritage Cloud, or the European Heritage Hub in which IMPULSE actors are already active. For this hackathon, three complementary research projects come together to illustrate different approaches to systemic challenges.

IMPULSE itself, through its software developments, aims not to compete with existing commercial platforms but provide a playful way of exploring and addressing XR design possibilities, with a particular focus on digital cultural heritage since virtual worlds offer unique possibilities for engagement.

The HAMLET project, on the other hand, emphasizes the voices of artists in shaping processes of systems design. It highlights the importance of acknowledging the unique characteristics of different artistic practices. For example, working with book collections poses entirely different challenges than handling movement data from dance and performance art. A further layer of complexity arises with media art, which requires highly specific infrastructures to be preserved and understood. As demonstrated by the archival work of the ZKM, the data itself cannot be maintained as cultural heritage unless the associated technical and infrastructural frameworks are also preserved, designed, and made accessible. Media art thus expands the concept of heritage to include the technical conditions of its operation and presentation, linking questions of culture and technological infrastructure.

CYANOTYPES explores the wide scope of skills and knowledge required across the creative sector in general, including the cultural heritage ecosystem. By using tools such as the “Blueprinter” and the “Learning Journey Design Canvas” (adopted from the T4R project), Cyanotypes aims to structure and guide the selection of learning content through AI-based agents. This approach supports the creation of individual learning pathways across different educational sites within the cultural heritage competence ecosystem. The project offers concrete strategies for building necessary competencies, both for emerging professionals in the field and for current practitioners working across various cultural heritage domains.

TUESDAY, 10 FEBRUARY, 2026

Arrival, Coffee/Tea

09:30 – 10:00 | WELCOME AREA

OPEN FOR ALL