TLO-35306 2018-01 Global Information Systems Management Group assignment
Aapo Tanskanen Asier Alcaide Martinez Deborah Kuperstein Blasco Laura Sipiä
ABSTRACT
Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality in Cultural Venues Tampere University
Group assignment, 16 pages March 2019
Keywords: Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Mixed Reality, Cultural Sites
Augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) are two of the most commented information system trends. While AR is a set of technologies hat overlay digital inter-phases in the physical world, AI refers to computers performing tasks by perceiving their environment and iteratively improving themselves. A combination of virtual environment with the real world is called mixed reality (MR).
There is an ongoing trend in cultural venues to use these information systems to enhance visitor experience. AI is being used in the form of chatbots and interactive guides at large museums and AR is used mostly through mobile applications that allow visitors to inter-act with their surroundings. In a few cases, mixed reality has also been introduced in technology museums through large, interactive screens.
The current research consists of an exploration of existing uses of AR, AI and MR at cultural venues, both indoors and outdoors. To do this, the second lens of the GISM Framework, ‘Explore and Understand: the current’ was utilized. To do this, a literature review on existing uses of these technologies in cultural venues was carried out. The re-sults of this research are a set of examples of using these information systems technolo-gies in cultural venues. Furthermore, value adding opportunities and potential disad-vantages were identified.
1. INTRODUCTION
New Information Systems (IS) trends are changing myriad aspects of human lives: the way people communicate with each other, interact with their surroundings, learn, travel, make purchase decisions, among others. Augmented Reality (AR), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Mixed Reality (MR) are some of the most popular IS trends; there’s a hype around them. Artificial intelligence is a widely studied and commented topic and, in fact, it is said to be the next big revolution in computing (Niven, 2016). Artificial intelligence is changing the way we use machines to enhance our daily lives. On the other hand, aug-mented reality consists of a set of technologies that insert, or superimpose, digital inter-faces into the physical world (Mohn, 2018). AR promises to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds and release unique human capabilities (Porter & Hep-pelmann). Furthermore, mixed reality combines the virtual environment with the real world and allows individuals to interact with both worlds (Milman, 2018); this interaction is enabled by artificial intelligence.
AR, AI and MR are disruptive technologies that are projected to not only affect individual consumers in the Business-to-Consumer sector, but also companies in almost all indus-tries and, due to new a trend in the use of these technologies, it will also change the way people interact and learn from cultural sites. This trend is the use of information systems for cultural purposes. While AI and AI are more gaining popularity in cultural sites, little is documented regarding MR and the value-adding opportunity that this represents for those cultural sites.
Thus, the goal of this research project is to explore and understand the current and poten-tial uses and value-adding opportunities of AR, AI and MR in both indoor and outdoor cultural venues. This will be achieved by utilizing the second research lens on the GISM framework, which focuses on explaining already existing technologies and identifying value adding cases. The intended outcome of this research is to identify existing uses of AR, AI and MR in both indoor and outdoor venues and illustrate how these provide value to both visitors and venues.
This project is organized as follows. In the second chapter, the concepts of Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Mixed Reality are briefly discussed. The third chapter identifies the current and potential uses of these technologies at indoor and outdoor cul-tural venues. Next, the fourth chapter presents value-adding opportunities for different stakeholders involved in incorporating these IS technologies into cultural sites. The team’s findings are discussed and concluding remarks are presented in the final chapter.
2. AUGMENTED REALITY, MIXED REALITY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that allows information generated from a com-puter to be overlaid onto a live direct or indirect real-world environment in real-time (Zhou et al., 2008). While VR systems completely block out the real world and replace it with a virtual simulated environment, AR allows users to continue to see the real world while overlaying virtual objects, characters, and information on top of the real world.
Generally, AR technologies have most of the following properties (Roesner et. al 2014):
- Sense properties about the real world.
- Process in real time.
- Output information to the user, including via visual, audio, and haptic means, usu-ally overlaid on the user’s perception of the real world.
- Provide contextual information.
- Recognize and track real-world objects.
- Be mobile or wearable.
The term ‘Augmented Reality’ is attributed to researcher Tom Caudell (Levine, Smith, and Stone, 2010) in 1990. However, the history of it goes back to the 1960s, using an optical see-through display tracked by mechanical or ultrasonic tracker, limited by com-putational power in those years. Nowadays there are myriad applications and systems in the market that provide AR functionality, making it difficult to classify and name it.
Sometimes it is difficult to figure whether it is AR or not, as AR is commonly defined as Virtual Reality (VR).