Augmented Reality Based User Interfaces for Mobile Museum and Exhibition Guides

An increasing number of museums and galleries have been recently conducting experiments with mobile, multimedia capable, handheld devices used as communication and interpretation devices. Mobile museum guides present certain advantages as they can be personalized according to different visitor profiles, deliver rich multimedia content using wireless networks and reveal visitors' attitudes towards specific exhibits or interpretation material, thus providing the museum staff with valuable data regarding visiting patterns. However, despite the fact that evaluation and assessment have proved these applications to be highly effective, there are still many challenges to address and many obstacles to overcome. In this paper we argue that the introduction of Augmented Reality techniques in mobile multimedia guides could alter the way we interact with the museum exhibits as well as with other visitors. Also we discuss some simple, key elements regarding the use of Augmented Reality techniques within the specified context.