Guiding visitors in museums with calm interactions

Abstract : We present two design solutions and an experimental platform that highlight the benefits of tangible interfaces in guiding visitors in museums while ensuring a better distribution of their attention between the exhibition and the guidance. We explore the use of the interactionattention continuum of Bakker et al. to design interfaces that allow the visitor to regulate his attention at different times of the visit. The Visiting Stick draws on the walking habits and the Marauder's Brochure extends the use of a recurring museum object, the visit brochure, by augmenting it with a dynamic display and various tactile and kinesthetic modalities. We have thus designed and built a physical experimental platform using several sensory channels: visual, audio and haptic (using heat, vibration and change of shape) to guide visitors. This platform will allow us in future work to compare the different modalities and their combination for guiding in the museum.