Science

Museum,

London

and

the

National

Air

&

Space

Museum28 even

offer

tactile

maps,(See

Fig.

4.4)

in

which

the

walls

and

exhibit

spaces

are

marked

with

raised

or

textured

lines

and

areas

that

can

be

understood

through

touch.

Companies

such

as

TacMap

and

Touch

Graphics

specialize

in

making

this

type

of

map,

which

can

be

handheld,

wall-mounted,

or

placed

a

kiosk.

Earlier

mentioned

location

based

navigation

tools

using

bluetooth

beacons,

such

as

the

Orb,

have

great

potential

to

incorporate

various

accessibility

features.

According

to

one

of

its

creators,

Lance

Chantiles-Wertz,

the

Orb

has

the

ability

to

personalize

information

such

as

prefered

language

and

wheelchair

use.

This

information

can

be

used

in

conjunction

with

audio

directions

to

provide

useful

navigation

to

all

different

types

of

visitors.

Advanced

Technologies

for

Assisted

Navigation

Other

new

technologies

can

also

be

combined

with

these

navigation

tools

to

help

visitors

with

disabilities.

Companies

such

as

Microsoft

have

used

computer

vision,

infrared

sensors,

and

AI

image

analysis

to

build

devices

that

can

help

blind

and

partially

sighted

individuals

navigate

their

surroundings.29 These

devices

analyze

the

environment

and

use

synthesized

speech,

different

sounds,30 or

haptic

feedback31 to

direct

the

user.

Researchers

have

developed

a

variety

ways

to

haptically

communicate

directions.

At

Yale,

Dr.

Adam

Spiers

of

the

GRAB

Lab

developed

a

cube-shaped

handheld

device

that

gave

turn-by-turn

navigation

directions

by

rotating

and

extending.(See

Fig.

4.5)32 The

technology

used

in

these

types

of

devices

could

be

used

in

museums

as

well.

In

a

museum

setting,

where

the

layout

is

known

and

relatively

stable,

there

is

little

need

for

environment

analysis.

Using

location-based

technology

such

as

bluetooth

beacons,

blind

or

partially

sighted

visitors

could

be

given

spoken

or

haptic

directions

in

response

to

their

position

in

the

museum.

These

directions

not

only

help

these

particular

visitors,

but

also

can

potentially

guide

sighted

visitors

to

increase

the

level

of

engagement

with

the

physical

collections.

Audio

Guides

Audio

guides

are

a

relatively

common

feature

for

museums;

the

Peabody

already

has

a

high-quality,

well-produced

tour.33 These

guides

have

great

potential

in

allowing

blind

or

partially

sighted

visitors

to

enjoy

and

engage

with

the

collections.

These

audio

tours

could

be

marked

with

braille

labels

on

the

exhibits

or

on

a

braille

handheld

guide.(See

Fig.

4.6)

Even

better,

location-based

technology

such

as

bluetooth

beacons

are

being

used

to

determine

the

correct

audio

clip

to

play

in

front

of

certain

items.

As

previously

mentioned,34the

SFMOMA

uses

an

app

like

this.35 36 This

guide

is

designed

to

keep

screens

away

while

looking

at

the

museum’s

collection,

but

is

perfect

to

help

blind

and

partially

sighted

visitors

use

the

audio

guides

as

well.

Though

there

are

many

benefits

of

a

good

audio

tour,

it

is

important

to

consider

how

deaf,

hard-of-hearing,

or

non-English

speakers

can

use

them.

Transcripts

and

technology

supporting

assistive

listening

devices

should

be

provided

alongside

the

audio

tours.

Translated

tours

or

transcripts

should

also

be

provided

if

resources

allow.

The

Met

offers

audio

tours

in

English,

French,

German,

Italian,

Japanese,

Korean,

Mandarin,

Portuguese,

Russian,

and

Spanish,37 and

continues

to

expand

the

quality

and

coverage

of

their

foreign

language

tours.38 This

could

be

a

worthwhile

investment

for

the

Peabody

to

include

more

types

of

visitors.

Special

Programming

Similarly

to

audio

guides,

special

tours

and

programming

specifically

geared

toward

certain

audiences

can

significantly

enhance

a

museum

visit.

Art

museums

and

galleries

like

Uffizi

Gallery

and

the

MoMA

provide

verbal

description

and

touch

tours

for

blind

and

partially

sighted

visitors.39 40 These

tours

involve

a

sighted

guide

describing

every

detail

in

the

art,

from

the

subject

to

the

background

to

the

texture

of

the

paint

and

to

the

color

of

each

element.

For

the

touch

tours,

visitors

may

touch

certain

sculptures

with

gloves

on,

as

well

as

tactile

images

renderings

of

and

three-dimensional

renderings

of

various

paintings.(See

Fig.

4.7)

These

techniques

could

be

easily

adopted

by

the

Peabody

Museum

by

adding

more

touchable

items

and

three-dimensional

models.

In

fact,

there

is

already

a

small-scale

implementation

of

touchable

models

in

the

Human

Origins

exhibit,

where

there

are

brass

skulls

available

to

visitors.

Considering

the

Peabody’s

large

volume

of

detailed

scans

of

its

artifacts,

3D

printing

and

casting

durable

models

is

certainly

feasible,

and

is

already

being

done

for

use

inside

of

exhibits.

Not

only

would

expanding

these

offerings

to

a

tactile

implementation

be

beneficial

to

blind

or

partially

sighted

individuals,

but

it

would

also

be

an

exciting

interactive

element

for

children

and

other

visitors

in

general.

For

deaf

or

hard-of-hearing

visitors,

many

museums

provide

sign-language

tours.

The

Museum

of

Fine

Arts,

Boston

also

provides

a

mobile

guide

with

a

recorded

video

sign-language

tour,

which

is

equivalent

to

an

audio

guide

made

accessible

to

deaf

visitors.41Programs

such

as

these

are

important

to

allow

visitors

with

disabilities

to

feel

welcome

and

included

and

to

have

a

meaningful

visit.

Conclusion

Accessibility

is

complex

but

extremely

important

to

think

about

with

regards

to

museum

experience.

There

are

many

tools,

old

and

new,

that

could

be

used

by

the

Peabody

to

be

more

inclusive

and

engaging

to

multiple

different

types

of

audiences.

With

the

Peabody

renovation

and

the

opportunity

for

new

interactive

technology,

it

is

essential

that

we

think

about

the

museum’s

use

by

all

visitors.

Conclusion

As

the

Peabody

explores

new

ideas

during

its

renovation

planning,

we

aim

to

provide

a

broad

overview

of

techniques,

technologies

and

tools

that

can

assist

visitors

navigate

around

museum

space

and

increase

interactivity

with

exhibits.

Our

findings

were

split

across

four

dimensions:

First,

we

considered

opportunities

for

transforming

static

displays

into

dynamic

touchscreens.

The

key

takeaways

were

that

such

screens

must

be

carefully

designed

to

accommodate

multiple

visitors

simultaneously,

be

intuitive

to

use,

and

not

detract

from

the

physical

exhibits.

The

second

dimension

investigated,

VR

and

AR,

gave

similar

lessons.

While

previously

largely

used

as

gimmicks,

these

technologies

have

tremendous

potential

to

make

museum

spaces

come

alive,

whether

by

animating

skeletons,

preserving

heritage

sites

or

giving

visitors

access

to

supplementary

information

and

virtual

avatars

at

kiosks

throughout

the

museum.

Third,

we

explored

the

applications

of

localization

technologies

to

assist

indoor

navigation.

The

technologies

spanned

the

spectrum

from

WiFi,

to