The Age of Ask in Melbourne Museums: Fostering an Interactive Experience through Voice-activated Technology

Authors

Owen France, Jane Lockery, Katherine Schweikert, Trung Tran Trong

Advisors

Katherine Foo, Lorraine Higgins

Term

March – May, 2018

Abstract

The motivation for this project was to improve visitor engagement both inside and outside of Melbourne Museum. To do so, our project team evaluated the potential of voice-activated tech- nology for use in museum exhibits as well as off-site applications. We researched the affordances of digital technologies in museums, including voice-activated technology, and we then developed and tested a voice-activated application for a popular exhibit, Phar Lap. User testing the proto- type with 45 groups of visitors and four focus groups of museum staff revealed that people enjoy interacting with the technology and there is potential for it to be used in the exhibit. Our obser- vations and feedback from focus groups and visitors suggested that young visitors in particular were interested in playing with the device to ask questions, learn, and socialise. However, we noted several functional limitations of the technology and made recommendations to mitigate the difficulties and work around these obstacles. We saw the potential for using this technology to further help visitors socialise and have fun, so we developed some additional concepts. The first was a short museum trivia game that visitors can play remotely after their visit or play in the museum. Secondly, we developed concepts for an adventure game, using voice-activated tech- nology to place the visitor in a museum-related storyline. From feedback on these various con- cepts, we recommend that Museums Victoria develop an application for personal use that would package all of these concepts, as well as add functionality to buy museum tickets, access interac- tive directions to anywhere in the museum, and generate a custom museum experience.

Final Report

The Age of Ask in Melbourne Museums