As advanced technologies make their way into the most unexpected of places, cultural public entities like history museums and art galleries are no exception. The centuries-old paintings may not change, but the way we view them will.

What does such a transformed museum entail? A more immersive, personalized visitor experience delivered and shaped by new technologies. It looks like an innovative exhibition space with a somewhat universal yet personalized appeal, something that can be suited to everyone’s taste. A venue that is gratifying and simultaneously efficient and functional. 

RTLS – or Real-Time Locating Systems – can be the catalyst for such a transformation. These location-based systems provide accurate real-time tracking for tags and personal devices that have downloaded an app, generating valuable location data with a diversity of uses. 

In the arts and culture world, technology is reinventing the visitor experience. From classical art galleries to food history museums, asset tracking systems can deliver information in real time about an exhibit when a visitor approaches. The information is automatically triggered the moment a spectator advances toward a piece, which is indicated via their phone’s location. 

While RTLS has primarily gained traction in the manufacturing sector, the technology’s uses go far beyond that, with more affecting applications. Location data is increasingly being recognized as a valuable asset for museums, spectator events, entertainment venues, and even amusement parks, enhancing visitor navigation and immersion while providing powerful new capabilities for infrastructure design and event planning.

Getting the most out of RTLS

Before we dive further into the benefits of RTLS, let’s talk about the practical side. What do museum operators need to consider when implementing RTLS for maximum gain? They must evaluate their tracking environment, their tracking needs, and the coverage area.

The tracking environment is often a particular challenge for museums, which tend to be housed in centuries-old buildings that pose challenging operating conditions: peculiar layouts, impenetrable concrete, and poor electrical wiring. That means museum operators need to select an RTLS system capable of dealing with structural interference and multi-floor environments, like those positioning systems that can transmit signals through metal and concrete. 

Then there’s the question of tracking needs: what will you be using RTLS for and what are your end objectives? That can elucidate the positioning accuracy required and an acceptable latency: for exhibit information, the reaction speed needs to be as quick as possible with minimal latency. And the positioning accuracy must be precise down to centimeters to trigger the correct exhibit at the correct time. So, even if this adds to the expenses, it’s best to select a system with high precision and latency for the technology to fulfil its purpose.

Finally, there’s the coverage area: this will determine the number of Locators you need to deploy throughout your facility and their positioning. Does your museum sprawl across multiple buildings on sprawling grounds? Or are the exhibits relatively concentrated?

Demonstrate proof of concept

Once you’ve determined the positioning accuracy you need and the scalability required, museums can kickstart the implementation process. 

This should start with a proof of concept (POC) test in a small section of the museum – this can continue operations unabated while reserving a single exhibit or so for a trial run. Try five or so Locators.

Proof of concept tests are also useful to get employees on board so that all staff understand the technology before it goes fully online, helping to reduce the chaos of an overnight, full-out transition to an RTLS system. When rolling out RTLS in your facilities, it is essential to make sure that all employees and stakeholders understand why RTLS is being used and how it can make their lives better. 

A proof of concept test can also help operators to understand if visitors are actually engaging with the technology before deploying widespread implementation: here you can see what works and what doesn’t, tweaking its use according to the data generated in POC, along with simply interviewing guests and soliciting feedback on their experience.

Define use cases

When demonstrating proof of concept, museums should start small with a few specific objectives before attempting to scale. These can simply be to build more interactive and immersive visitor experiences, to gather data on exhibit popularity, or even to use visitor movements to design future layouts. 

Undoubtedly, RTLS’s true value lies in its ability to accurately and reliably pinpoint location down to the centimeter-level – an approach uniquely suited for museums packed with artworks and artefacts. At the Ajman Fort Museum in Dubai, for instance, the technology works seamlessly for paintings spaced less than two meters away from one another. 

But it’s not just exhibits that can be integrated with RTLS: museums can also monitor guest volume, room capacity, and visitor flow/paths. The technology helps museum operators analyze the behavioural patterns of guests to see how they navigate a floor plan and the path they take. The resulting visitor heat map can help design more efficient routes and exhibition layouts, show which exhibits get the most attention to inform future collections, and determine the current volume to prevent congestion. 

These insights will create smoother visitor flows with ideally less foot traffic and visitor volume – potentially even making a dent in infamously long queues at world-renowned exhibitions. This promotes comfort and safety-driven optimization: allowing guests to see what they came for while retaining room to breathe. Moreover, this information allows management to improve crowd control and evacuation measures if needed.

Moving forward

Just because an artefact is from the time of the Neanderthals, doesn’t mean the museum that holds it has to be. It’s time to reinvent and revitalize the visitor experience with easy-to-use technology that enables more personalized and memorable encounters. 

As we increasingly question the role of technology in our lives, it’s time to see how these tools can enhance not just efficiency and functionality, but art – including the art of being a spectator.

Did you know?

Quuppa is the leading RTLS platform for indoor positioning.
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This article was originally published in Forbes.com

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Sydney Living Museums is the State Cultural Institution, caring for a group of 12 of the most important historic houses, gardens and museums in Australia’s New South Wales. One of these museums, Hyde Park Barracks, is an extraordinary living record of early colonial Australia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage -listed site and nowadays also a cutting-edge museum.

CHALLENGE

The Hyde Park Barracks renewal project started in 2019 to transform the museum into a world-leading heritage destination. They wanted to break away from traditional museum experiences by combining history with the latest technologies to encourage engagement with the museum exhibits. The museum’s idea was to let visitors enjoy their personal adventures through history while walking through the space on their own.

SOLUTION

Early on, Sydney Living Museums chose Local Projects, which specialises in creative museum instalments, to design the new museum experience. They identified Quuppa as a trusted technology partner, as their positioning system offered the required level of accuracy for the case.

The system deployment was taken care of by another Quuppa Partner, Gradient Advanced Technologies. An infrastructure of Quuppa Locators was installed into the museum’s ceiling to track mobile devices carried by the visitors as they move through the space so that relevant audio and video content could be triggered as visitors approach the displays. This enhances visitor experiences as they can decide freely where to go, to pick which displays to see and in what order, while still having access to the relevant interactive content immediately.

RESULTS

The re-imagination of the Hyde Park Barracks museum has been remarkably successful, and many visitors have praised the improvements to the experience on-site. Whenever the visitors reach specific displays, they start hearing the related stories immediately through their headphones. The new technology provides a self-guided and immersive experience that feels like stepping back in time.

NEXT STEPS

Sydney Living Museums is very happy with Quuppa technology and how it has performed at the Hyde Park Barracks. Next, they will investigate how to expand the use of the technology both at the Hyde Park Barracks, e.g. to optimise visitor flows and to manage visitor volumes, and at their other museum sites in New South Wales.

Local Projects is an experience design studio that connects people to brands and cultural institutions through meaningful interactions. The company’s synthesis of creative technology and physical design is a potent combination, capable of offering signature design moments that engage visitors. One of their works is A Museum of Collective Memory in the National September 11 Memorial Museum. More info: localprojects.com

Gradient Advanced Technologies provides access to the most sophisticated and accurate asset tracking technology available. The company has experience in segments as diverse as Museums, Supermarkets, Manufacturing plants, Universities/ Schools and Automotive Dealerships and is supported by a team which is a major software and data integration services supplier to a number of international automotive OEMs. More info: gat.gradient.com.au

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Mizkan Group, established in 1804, is the number one sushi seasoning supplier in the world. The Mizkan Museum (MIM) is an interactive museum where visitors can learn about the company’s history as a vinegar manufacturer, and about the charm of Japanese food.

CHALLENGE

Mizkan Museum always aims to perfect user experiences for visitors touring around the museum. In the past, there were tour guides showing visitors around. With the introduction of Mizkan’s free tour in their “Room of Earth”, the museum looked for solutions to make the individuals’ journey more seamless and effortless without the tour guides.

Additionally, they hoped to learn more about the movements of its visitors to improve the museum’s analytics and performance.

SOLUTION

Mizkan Museum chose the app-based tour guide solution which is integrated by Kokosai Kogyo and powered by Quuppa’s indoor positioning technology. This solution met two key requirements of the museum:

• High accuracy positioning
• Compatibility with smartphones

In addition, it allows the museum to monitor the devices and control the sensors easily.

To implement the solution, a network of Quuppa Locators was installed onto the ceiling of the museum to track smartphones via the application. The location data for smartphones is instantly sent to the system which then activates relevant audio-visual information. Presenting real-time data is crucial for the museum to ensure smooth visitor experiences.

RESULTS

Using just a smartphone and the museum application, visitors can now freely wander around the museum without tour guides and get automatic audio-visual guidance information immediately for the objects that are nearby or the zones they enter. They can keep their tour flexible and enjoy the exhibition to its full potential in a modern way.

NEXT STEPS

The next steps for Mizkan Museum are to further develop the solution based on Quuppa technology so that the museum can record the walking path of the visitors. This enables them to learn which exhibition areas or objects are most popular and then further optimise the exhibition flows and attractions.

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