Reimagining memorial spaces through digital technologies: A typology of CemTech

Abstract

Digital technologies are creating new ways for visitors to engage with cemeteries. This article presents research into the development of digital cemetery technologies, or cemtech, to understand how they are reimagining memorial spaces. Through a systematic review of examples of cemtech in online records, academic literature, patents, and trade publications, we developed a typology of cemtech according to four characteristics: application type, technical components, target users, and development status. Analysis of the application types resulted in five higher-level themes of functionality or operation—Wayfinding, Narrativizing, Presencing, Emplacing, and Repurposing—which we discuss. This t..