AEQUA

The team conducted an investigation in this field with museums that represent best practices on a European and international scale, such as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Paris Immigration Museum, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and, on a local level, the Fondazione Torino Musei.

What emerged are the main requirements that ICT technology needs to meet: the encouragement of customer loyalty in an audience that already visits museums, an understanding of the general public’s behaviour, an increase in involvement and the supply of integrated services and innovative educational approaches.

The study concentrated on museum visits and particularly on augmented reality solutions and the adoption of terminals to take advantage of the content that can improve a visitor’s experience.

During the investigative phase, three main target groups were also identified that the study should focus on: teenagers (14-19 years of age), children (8-14 years of age) and people with disabilities. The mapping of the needs of these three target groups with reference to the different phases of the ‘user experience’ (pre-visit, visit, post-visit) allowed us to focus the feasibility study on two types of technological solutions, both of which support the visiting phase, available in a prototype form:

• a solution for simplifying museums for those with cognitive disabilities (using devices owned by users themselves or provided by the museum)
• an augmented reality application for tablets, PCs and smartphones for teenagers based on modern cross-device technology for outdoor environments (such as ecomuseums, etc.)
• the IMSEK multimedia system which offers a personal guided tour around a display area for a wider audience (launched at the DNA Italia exhibition in 2010)

The know-how acquired was useful in building and consolidating a cooperative relationship with museums in the area, aimed at finalising research and development projects that are now in the project funding phase.