Interaction design applications for museum spaces. New exhibit paths driven by a Bluetooth sensor’s system

Visitor fatigue and hypercongestion are two key issues in museum visitor studies. This paper investigates some solutions recently developed by different European museums, which are based around the creation of thematic or time based trails or tours. Furthermore, this paper presents an interdisciplinary activity developed at a large scale museum in Italy, modeled on the contextual needs of the visitors. The preliminary stage of this case study involved manual mapping and analysis of visitors’ behaviour. Subsequently, proximity sensors will be introduced. Proximity sensors detect visitor clustering and time of permanence near the artefacts along the museum display. This sensor system can be used as a testing tool for visitor behaviour, but also as a tool to devise a personal museum tour. The main contribution of this paper is the design for the implementation of a non invasive sensor system that aims to track visitor’s behaviour, and suggests new museum pathways.