The Start of MuseGO
- Christina
- Mar 1, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 22, 2019
This is one of the most exciting project that I am working on currently.
Working with Keren and Ivana who are Master of Engineering students in Electrical & Computer Engineering at University of Toronto, we are working on a mobile app that leverages AR for sensory-friendly museum tours.
What motivated us to do this?
Many museums are housed in a historical building. For example, take a look at this photo of the Art Gallery of Ontario. The lower brick building is the original architecture which used to be a residential home, the Grange. What you see above it are the expansion that’s been built over time, incrementally for the past 100 years or so. In museums, visitor experiences are sacrificed due to ongoing retrofitting efforts due to the structural limitations in order to preserve cultural heritage buildings.
The architectural design of museums are restricted by historical preservation, tight budget and funding and shifting demands between collecting, researching, and the service aspects of the museum operations.
So for even for myself, who goes to museums often, I get lost in the maze.
Past visitor research revealed that visitor experience and satisfaction ratings are often directly affected by the ability to navigate successfully around the space. So, we decided to develop a mobile app to improve wayfinding that meets the unique needs of the visitors while reducing the feeling of stress, exhaustion, and missed opportunity in a large cultural institution.
Cultural institutions are working to become AODA compliant through reducing the barriers and by producing accessible and inclusive educational experience.
Cultural institutions increasingly recognize that people with sensory processing disorders (SPD) can be over- or under-sensitive to outside factors, such as bright lights, loud sounds, tastes, and touch.
Our app, MuseGO, will enhance accessibility for those affected with sensory processing difficulties. It will be the tool for exhibition designers to easily create sensory friendly tour. In turn, it will allow families with sensory friendly needs to easily navigate the space while gaining necessary information at the right place, at the right moment.
I couldn't wait any longer to share what we have so far (WHICH IS SO AMAZING!!!)
In upcoming iterations we will be implementing global navigation and user profile. We will include uploading photo feature for the tour creators. We will develop searching, sorting, and commenting features for the tour followers. We also plan to have implemented all the flags for accessibility information and improved UI.
Can't wait to test the app on site at some of the cultural institutions in Toronto!
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