This project was part of a 5 week course focused on Interaction Design and Prototyping, with the constraint that the interaction had to be museum-based.
One of my favorite parts of the research process is contextual inquiry. I started by visiting three museums in Seattle - Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle Art Museum and The Museum of Pop Culture to get a sense of the space and an understanding of the needs of museum goers. This was followed by secondary research, a literature review of Dr. John H. Falk's work, "Understanding Museum Visitors’ Motivations and Learning" which further deepen my understanding of visitor behavior and preferences in museum settings.
I noticed two important things during my visit.
Firstly, each artifact had a short but quite limited description.
Secondly, even with maps available, it was often a bit tricky to figure out your exact location and how much of the museum you'd explored.
How might we design an immersive experience that satisfies the curiosity and exploratory interests of young museum visitors?
In our early brainstorming, we considered addressing the challenge of minimizing cognitive load for museum visitors by offering an ideal path designed for maximum information retention. However, this approach would require a redesign for each museum, limiting its scalability.
To foster creativity, we each generated 20 sketches, exploring unconventional ideas without concern for feasibility. We narrowed it down to the following five ideas that would solve Alex's problem.
Given that Augmented Reality (AR) is not widely adopted and can be challenging to visualize, we decided to create a video prototype to effectively convey the idea to stakeholders.
We designed a scenario to illustrate the user's journey and highlight key interactions.
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The AR avatar dynamically transforms its appearance to match the exhibit. For instance, it will take on the likeness of a archeologist persona when visitors explore exhibits related to ancient cultures and civilizations.
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Users can personalize their experience by selecting topics or areas that align with their interests resulting in a customized path.
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Augmented Reality (AR) arrows assist users in navigating their personalized path.
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Users can view visualizations of the floor layout and gain an understanding of the exhibits they've covered.
The project felt incomplete as we hadn't spoken to real users. I wasn't satisfied leaving it as is and wanted to continue working on it even after the course ended. I revisited the museums and conducted five interviews, from which we derived the following findings:
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Users tend to visit museums with themes that align with their specific interests and typically see all exhibits.
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Users expressed a need for more engaging way to learn.
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Some users mentioned that they would like directions to a seating arrangement within a vast museum.
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Several users expressed the need for someone to answer additional questions in order to satisfy their curiosity.
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International students struggle to translate or recall scientific names in English, preferring to read the information in their native language.
We decided to eliminate the custom path option as most of the people visited museums aligned to their interests and explored all of the exhibits. We moved forward with the era-specific AI guide and added a new feature allowing users to access additional information about artifacts.
Our solution includes AR-glasses with customizable modes that enhance engagement and learning. Visitors can switch between these three mode:
Legacy or normal mode is the setting where all augmented reality (AR) features are deactivated.
In the DataDots or Learn and Engage mode, users can view Augmented Reality markers and select them to access specific information associated with those markers.
In the CurioConvo or Ask and Engage mode, users can view Augmented Reality markers and select them to access specific information associated with those markers.
As a visitor approaches this clothing artifact, they can see options popup where they can learn something specific about the artifact. Tapping on an option, provides detailed information that is relevant to what they want to learn.
Visitors can open the options panel by lifting their hand with the palm facing upwards and select the DataDots option to activate this feature. As they engage with the dots, they can learn through text, audio, and video about the exact part of the artifact, like claws of the dinosaur.
An advanced AI model is extensively trained with data on every artifact within the museum's collection. This AI model takes the form of an Augmented Reality (AR) avatar, ready to address any and all inquiries from museum-goers. The virtual avatar remains in constant view through AR glasses and follows a curved path around the artifact, maintaining a seamless and immersive experience.
For those who prefer text-based interaction, a keyboard is readily accessible as part of the hand UI panel. This ensures that all visitors can comfortably engage with the AI avatar.
Conversations with the avatar are initiated through voice input, providing a natural interaction. Users have the flexibility to adjust conversation parameters, including conversation speed and language, and they can choose to enable or disable subtitles for an inclusive experience.
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Prioritize essential features over cramming too many functionalities into a product.
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Given additional time, conduct comprehensive usability testing to validate the solution.
