As part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the publication of the drama R.U.R., in which the now internationally used word robot first appeared, the Karel Čapek Memorial in Stará Hut u Dobříše has prepared an exhibition "Journey into the depths of the robot's soul". The exhibition was held from 26 September 2020 to 31 March 2022. It is a flexible compact travelling exhibition, provided to other educational and cultural institutions for a symbolic fee. The data documents are also available to foreign partners; the popular travelling exhibitions of the memorial are traditionally applied in this way, for example in the network of Czech Centres. A modified English-language version of the Memorial's exhibition on the theme of the R.U.R. will be presented in Brussels in the second half of 2022 as part of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The outdoor panels will feature a QR code referring to the new interactive application, prepared in cooperation with CESNET.

CESNET has prepared two digital applications for this exhibition and for the next exhibition, which introduce children's visitors in an entertaining way to the history of the development of robots and the work and life of Karel Čapek. When designing the applications, we anticipated the use of interactive technology for other educational applications for children in the future. Both applications use 3D digitalization and interactive environment.

The first part is an interactive quiz about the history of the development of robots. The visitor will be asked a set of questions to test (and expand) their knowledge of robotics. Each question is set in a thematic 3D scene. The guide is a digitised robot figure, which was probably made in Switzerland in the 1920s and was used to promote Čapek's play. Its original made of metal and wood with movable joints, human head and hands was lent for digitisation by Kateřina Dostálová, Josef Čapek's granddaughter. It is thanks to his ingenious idea of how to aptly name the heroes of his brother's play that the Czech word robot is now known all over the world. The figure can be carefully adjusted to a different position. In addition to the quiz, visitors can now examine the figure in detail in different positions in each 3D scene. Visitors to the Karel Čapek Memorial can try out the quiz on the interactive panel or outside on the internet and from mobile devices.

Fullscreen version

A 3D model of the robot and a digital presentation about the development of robots were created for Karel Čapek Memorial. In a sequence of 3D scenes, questions and answers you can test your knowledge about robots. The exhibition about Čapek's novel R.U.R. was prepared by Karel Čapek Memorial.

By careful processing, the complex joints of the robot figure have been virtually separated, allowing it to move in virtual space. The character can walk freely and smoothly according to the visitors' commands, as a robot should do.

This was the basis for the creation of the second interactive application - a game focused on the work and life of Karel Čapek. The visitor can navigate the robot figure in the garden around the memorial while performing various tasks. In a fun way, they will learn interesting facts about Karel Čapek's books, his brother Josef's illustrations and life in Stará Hut. The virtual environment uses a 3D model of the memorial created using photogrammetry from a drone. Control is possible both with a traditional mouse on your own PC or with a special 3D mouse in the interactive kiosk in the memorial.