Audiences are increasingly expecting more from their Museum experience, whilst the life-cycle of digital technologies decreases. Although it is clear that the digital Museum experience provides a fascinating encounter for audiences, this fascination can quickly depreciate once the next ‘it’ technology comes out. So how are Museums keeping up with latest trends in AI, VR and AR?
Artificial Intelligence: Predictive Analytics in Visitor Numbers
Artificial Intelligence (AI) uses the power of a computer to imitate human behaviour and intelligence. The National Gallery is utilising this to analyse past visitor experiences in the Museum to predict future attendance and engagement. This allows Museums to evaluate the effectiveness of exhibitions and to plan ahead for the future.
In order to implement this programme, The National Gallery works with AI visitor attraction specialist Dexibit. With a mission to support visitor attractions to continue engaging audiences, Dexibit uses the power of big data to inform institutions such as The National Gallery on its visitor behaviour and venue performance.
Dexibit predicts, analyses and reports for visitor experience and exhibit performance in cultural and visitor attractions. It allows the Gallery to understand what draws its 6m visitors a year there, what they are doing once they get there, and what will help to bring them back in the future. It’s a typical marketing funnel, like any business – how does the Gallery attract more visitors, how does it get them to enjoy their time on site, to spend their money in the cafe or the shop and get them coming back as members or repeat visitors?
This comes as a vital source of insight as Directors balance the cultural objectives of curation whilst also adhering to the economic needs of a Museum that relies on public funding.
However, with new innovation also comes new responsibilities and challenges. Recently, £60,000 has been awarded by the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) towards a project examining the potential impacts of AI in Museum practice. Developed in partnership with Museums including The National Gallery, a network of Senior Museum professionals and Academics will assemble to discuss the ethics around the use of artificial intelligence in Museums. Ultimately, there are important questions to be raised about the use of such data and how to adhere to GDPR regulations. For example, how do we ensure that visitors have ‘opted in’ and are happy for their data to be used?
AR and VR: Telling Stories through Immersive Exhibitions
As much as Museums have traditionally enticed generations for decades with creative exhibitions, there is an increasing need for curators to use innovative new ways to attract younger audiences. Hence, the use of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality becoming a huge trend in pushing the boundaries of storytelling and developing exhibitions that bring collections to life, enhancing learning and engagement.
“We have a generation that is growing up on video games. It is important to speak their language and VR is an incredibly experiential form of storytelling”
states Mitch Gelman, Chief Technology Officer of Newseum, Washington.
One example of this is Boulevard, a company set on bringing the arts to life through the use of virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies. Notably, its work has been marked as the ‘Netflix for the Arts’ by Forbes, and the company has worked internationally with Museums to create interactive exhibitions that allows audiences to learn about collections in new ways. For instance, a partnership between Boulevard and The British Museum allows audiences to re-imagine and interact with history and humanity from two million years ago. Utilising 48 objects from the Museum’s permanent collections, representing a diverse range of civilisations and cultures, audiences can use Oculus Rift technology to move around the Reading Room and hold artefacts close to them to examine whilst listening to informative audio narration.
Another example is Pufferfish an Edinburgh-based firm which, over the past ten years, has been working with a number of museums and visitor attractions to bring digital content to life for visitors. Its unique spherical displays challenge traditional flat technology by opening up new possibilities for communication, engagement and interaction with their trademark PufferSphere.
The PufferSphere UHD is an Ultra-High Definition internally-projected spherical display system, incorporating cutting-edge laser projection technology and a robust 900mm acrylic screen. It can be combined with Pufferfish’s exclusive on-sphere touch technology or separate touch-screen interactivity. PufferSphere also provide a range of content and application development services, bringing stories to life using data, motion, video and code. This proved successful at the Lapworth Museum of Geology at the University of Birmingham, where a PufferSphere was installed in 2016 as part of its £3m redevelopment. The museum was keen to have a statement display integrated into a customised plinth; create a destination to pull visitors into the experience and that had ample space for groups to gather around to talk and interact. The PufferSphere provided the canvas for the creation of an interactive globe through which visitors could browse data visualisations and animations pertaining to the evolution of the Earth.
The Deutsches Museum in Munich – the world’s largest science and technology centre – has also sought the expertise of Pufferfish in partnership with one of Germany’s most visited museums, Bundeskunsthalle (in Bonn), for a unique interdisciplinary exhibition on weather and climate change.
At the Bundeskunsthalle the PufferSphere was incorporated to open the exhibit, introducing and disseminating complex weather data, while its magnetic appeal was utilised to inspire visitors about the geological impact of weather systems.
Ultimately, the use of AR and VR technologies in the Museum context allows visitors to be transported into new worlds and re-imagine their experience of collections in ways never done before. It is an innovative step in engaging new generations and facilitating learning through experiences that stimulate a range of senses to leave a lasting impact. These new technologies can also be used to break down accessibility barriers for those with disabilities.
The Infinity Mirrors exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum recently provided a virtual reality experience of the installation for those with disabilities that would not otherwise be able to engage with the work.
The key to Museums being innovative and sustainably engaging audiences is to continue to build partnerships with trailblazers in the technology industry. A study by Cuseum evaluated the impact of technologies such as AR on the museum experience and noted that 87% of visitors surveyed agreed that AR enhanced their experience; furthermore, 85% would recommend this experience to a friend.
The creative combinations of AI, VR and AR being deployed by Museums are seeing visitor numbers and engagement increase as audiences continue to be fascinated and immersed into diverse arts and cultures. It will be exciting to see how the world of Museums continue to adapt and change in this digital era.
