Table of Contents
Comments
Commenters1
The six technologies featured in the 2010 Horizon Report: Museum Edition are placed along three adoption horizons that indicate likely time frames for their entrance into mainstream use for museum education and interpretation. The near-term horizon assumes the likelihood of entry into the mainstream for museums within the next twelve months; the mid-term horizon, within two to three years; and the far-term, within four to five years. It should be noted at the outset that the Horizon Report is not a predictive tool. It is meant, rather, to highlight emerging technologies with considerable potential for our focus areas of education and interpretation. Each of the six is already the focus of work at a number of innovative organizations around the world, and the work we showcase here reveals the promise of a wider impact.
The six technologies featured in the 2010 Horizon Report: Museum Edition are placed along three adoption horizons that indicate likely time frames for their entrance into mainstream use for museum education and interpretation. The near-term horizon assumes the likelihood of entry into the mainstream for museums within the next twelve months; the mid-term horizon, within two to three years; and the far-term, within four to five years. It should be noted at the outset that the Horizon Report is not a predictive tool. It is meant, rather, to highlight emerging technologies with considerable potential for our focus areas of education and interpretation. Each of the six is already the focus of work at a number of innovative organizations around the world, and the work we showcase here reveals the promise of a wider impact.2
On the near-term horizon — that is, within the next 12 months — are mobiles and social media. These two topics appear on this first horizon because they are present and pervasive in everyday life, and audiences have ever-increasing expectations of what museums might offer via these two technologies.
On the near-term horizon — that is, within the next 12 months — are mobiles and social media. These two topics appear on this first horizon because they are present and pervasive in everyday life, and audiences have ever-increasing expectations of what museums might offer via these two technologies.3
- The story of mobiles is no longer about the devices themselves, but about the blurring of the boundary between cellular networks and the Internet. Increasingly, and more so in the developing world, the Internet is accessed from mobile devices using a cellular network that extends significantly beyond even the electric grid. Mobiles represent an untapped resource for reaching visitors and for bridging the gap between the experiences that happen in museums and those that happen out in the world. Museums are poised to use mobiles to create and deliver educational and interpretive experiences, supplying contextual information to engage the visitor and allow them to make connections between objects and ideas, people, places, and institutions.
- Social media present an opportunity to reach new audiences and to create communities around museum collections. Social media are made social by tools that allow people to interact around ideas conveyed through images, video, audio, and animations. Social media have proven to be very effective in engaging audiences, not simply connecting them, and provide museums with real opportunities to dialog with audiences in new and substantive conversations and learning experiences.
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The second adoption horizon is set two to three years out, where we will begin to see widespread adoptions of two technologies that are growing in popularity in the consumer sector: augmented reality and location-based services. Museum educators arguably have always been in the business of augmenting reality, creating bridges between objects, ideas, and visitors, but augmented reality technologies are now allowing this to happen more fluidly and easily than ever. Location-based services offer museums to extend conversations about history, art, science, and more out into their communities, effectively extending the galleries to include public works, historical sites, and much more. Within the next few years, the opportunities offered to museums via the adoption and creative implementation of these two technologies will only expand. Consider a museum environment in which visitors can access deep, rich experiential learning, information, and services in a range of formats, each presented at the exact time and place when it is most meaningful — even beyond the boundaries of the museum itself.
The second adoption horizon is set two to three years out, where we will begin to see widespread adoptions of two technologies that are growing in popularity in the consumer sector: augmented reality and location-based services. Museum educators arguably have always been in the business of augmenting reality, creating bridges between objects, ideas, and visitors, but augmented reality technologies are now allowing this to happen more fluidly and easily than ever. Location-based services offer museums to extend conversations about history, art, science, and more out into their communities, effectively extending the galleries to include public works, historical sites, and much more. Within the next few years, the opportunities offered to museums via the adoption and creative implementation of these two technologies will only expand. Consider a museum environment in which visitors can access deep, rich experiential learning, information, and services in a range of formats, each presented at the exact time and place when it is most meaningful — even beyond the boundaries of the museum itself.5
- Augmented reality has become something anyone can use, thanks to the convergence of three technologies — GPS, video, and pattern recognition — and the applications seem endless. Already on a path of convergence with mobile technology, augmented reality is not bound to the desktop, but is also a portable tool for discovery-based learning that can enhance the information available to patrons when visiting galleries, exploring outdoor installations, or interacting with real-world objects.
- Location-based services provide consumers with services linked explicitly to their current location and often prioritized by the known interests of the user. From geographically targeted advertising to applications that suggest services, special offers, and activities in the immediate area, location-based services supply a growing demand for personalization. Mobiles are the logical platform for delivery of location-based services, and location-based services are one of the fastest growing areas for mobile applications.
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On the far-term horizon, set at four to five years away from widespread adoption, are gesture-based computing and the semantic web. Both of these technologies are the focus of considerable development in both the consumer and industry sectors. The high level of interest and the significant research occurring in both areas indicate that they are worth following closely.
On the far-term horizon, set at four to five years away from widespread adoption, are gesture-based computing and the semantic web. Both of these technologies are the focus of considerable development in both the consumer and industry sectors. The high level of interest and the significant research occurring in both areas indicate that they are worth following closely.7
- Gesture-based computing is already strong in the consumer market and we are seeing a growing number of prototypical applications for training, research, and study, though this technology is still some time away from common educational use. Mobile devices controlled by natural movements of the finger, hand, arm, and body are common, and other devices incorporating these approaches soon will be. As we work with devices that respond to us rather than requiring us to learn to work with them, our understanding of what it means to interact with a computer is changing. For museums, gesture-based computing opens up interesting avenues for visitors to interact with information and objects in a physical as well as an intellectual way — an activity long denied to the typical visitor, who can only view the objects on display.
- The semantic web reveals relationships between concepts, people, and events that are embedded in the wealth of content on the web but not always easy to see using other means. Semantic-aware applications expose those relationships by determining the context in which information exists; such applications can aggregate related information much more quickly than it could be done by hand. Museums have a unique opportunity to expose and mine semantic information in their own collections, which would allow greater exposure of and context for vast collections of objects.
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Each of these technologies is described in detail in the main body of the report, where a discussion of what the technology is and why it is relevant to museum education and interpretation may also be found. Given the practical focus of the report, a listing of examples of the technology in use, especially in museums, is a key component of each of the six main topics. Our research indicates that all six of these technologies, taken together, will have a significant impact on museums and other cultural institutions within the next five years.
Each of these technologies is described in detail in the main body of the report, where a discussion of what the technology is and why it is relevant to museum education and interpretation may also be found. Given the practical focus of the report, a listing of examples of the technology in use, especially in museums, is a key component of each of the six main topics. Our research indicates that all six of these technologies, taken together, will have a significant impact on museums and other cultural institutions within the next five years.