I spent the last week recovering from my wisdom teeth extraction. I did not get a lot accomplished as I didn’t get a chance to go to the history center for more than 20 minutes. The work I was able to do at home was to rerun the code that allows me to use a map feature.
After having a brief conversation with my supervisor we decided that everything will live on webpage instead of having someone download the app. I need to create an interactive map that allows the guest to click areas to open the features which causes a few issues.
The first and most major issue in my opinion is ease of use. When I initially created the app the idea was to use QR codes to get everything done so it would be subject specific but after much consideration we decided against that because there would be too many stickers. Then I merged the effort to create a better experience for the visually impaired into the app since you can listen to it and the app can give the guest audio supplemented information.
The problem with the ease of use now is that we have to expect the guest to understand where they are in the history center in order to correctly click the right information, but there are no labels on any of the doorways. Once inside the exhibit space or room, it is clear what it is but it might be confusing for older guests or those that are visually impaired.
One way to fix this is to use software integrated that can recognize objects and then display something over them that would be clickable. I have not used this before and I need to make sure it can fit within the code architecture of the app so far without breaking it. If this does work, it would be much better than the QR codes. It will take a lot of preparation by museum staff to connect the object with whatever information they want to add, but once done it will be easy for the guests. Right now there is only a traditional menu on the side of the exhibit case that gives a small bit of information. It also is a bit confusing since it does not point to objects but instead tells you where in the case they are.
So if I can get the basic version working next week then in the future someone would be able to walk up to an exhibit, open the app page, hold the scanner up and an AR overlay of information would appear. We could incorporate video or audio about the exhibit or object so that could help.
The other problem is mission creep. I was originally trying to get haptic feedback gloves or 3D printed items but that seems to be taking a backseat to this app since it can be useful for many people all at once. The 3D printing involves getting objects scanned and then paying for printing and this history center, as with all public history museums, is not exactly bursting with ready cash for such projects. I will continue to try to get at least some objects scanned and 3D printed before the end of the semester as a proof of concept but if someone who cannot see well or at all is able to scan an exhibit case and hear about the objects in them, maybe even zoom in and see a 3D version…that would be better in some ways.
