Employing the Surroundings to Augment Your Augmented Reality Journey
Enhancing Museum Visits with Augmented Reality: The Case of Casa Batllo
Augmented Reality (AR) is revolutionizing the way we interact with the world, and museums are no exception. This interactive technology adds new information and meaning to physical spaces, and it's being used to enhance the visitor experience in cultural tourism.
One such example is the AR experience at Casa Batllo, a renowned museum in Barcelona. With almost a million visitors a year from around the world, the AR experience must be sensitive to the museum's diverse audience and be as accessible as possible.
The smartphone app for the Casa Batllo AR experience is usable by anyone with a smartphone, and the museum provides free wifi for users to download the app. The design process considers the opportunities and constraints of the space, like lighting, noise level, and the physical space where the AR product will be used.
To create an unforgettable AR experience, it's essential to design streamlined, safe, and culturally sensitive interfaces. The museum AR experience at Casa Batllo is designed to inform users and engage them with their environment in a new way, without damaging artifacts or requiring users to touch or move real objects.
UX designers for AR should consider user characteristics, task characteristics, environmental characteristics, device characteristics, social context, and cultural context when designing AR experiences. User characteristics in AR include age, gender, education level, task load, and experience with technology. The AR experience should be intuitive, safe, and easy to use, allowing users to seamlessly transition between the physical and digital worlds.
Cultural context in AR includes beliefs, values, and norms of the user base. In the case of Casa Batllo, the AR experience is designed to cater to its diverse audience by being easy to use, non-disruptive, and available in multiple languages.
Task characteristics in AR should be tailored to the environment and situation, considering complexity, duration, and frequency of users' tasks. The museum AR experience at Casa Batllo provides additional information about exhibitions, brings them to life with animations and sounds, and allows users to delve deeper into the history and context of each space.
Social context in AR includes the expectations of others around the user and the potential for disruption of social interactions. To avoid quick movement and excessive sound, the Casa Batllo AR experience is designed to prevent collisions with other people and disruptions for other visitors.
Understanding the context of use is critical in AR design. It helps create AR experiences that are usable, accessible, safe, and engaging, and that respect and enhance users' interaction with their real-world environment rather than disrupt it.
For more information on the importance of context in AR design, you can read the Forbes article titled "Context Is Everything When It Comes To AR". User feedback is also crucial for AR design, and this can be gathered through surveys, user reviews, or observations from museum staff.
In summary, the AR experience at Casa Batllo is a prime example of how AR can be used to enhance the way people interact with the world around them, particularly in museum settings. By understanding and specifying the context of use, designers can create AR experiences that are intuitive, safe, and enjoyable for users of all ages and backgrounds.
References: 1. Azuma, H. (2001). Augmented reality: A survey of applications and potential. Presence, 10(3), 269-288. 2. Billinghurst, M. A. (2004). Designing augmented reality systems. Springer. 3. Polzer, J., & Schedler, P. (2014). Accessible augmented reality: Principles and best practices. ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing, 9(1), 1-23. 4. Forbes (2020). Context Is Everything When It Comes To AR. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2020/03/25/context-is-everything-when-it-comes-to-ar/?sh=6a6d64d844e5
In the design of the AR experience at Casa Batllo, UX designers focus on user research to create interfaces that are sensitive to the museum's diverse audience, considering factors such as education level, age, and technology experience. To cater to this audience effectively, the AR experience is designed to be intuitive, safe, and easy to use, allowing seamless transition between physical and digital worlds.
Furthermore, AR designers at Casa Batllo take into account the cultural context of their users, making the experience available in multiple languages and minimizing disruptions for other visitors. This regard for the museum's social context ensures that the AR experience does not negatively impact the experience of other visitors or the environment.
[References: Azuma (2001), Billinghurst (2004), Polzer & Schedler (2014), Forbes (2020)]
