From the disappearing computer to living exhibitions: shaping interactivity in museum settings

While considerable technical ingenuity is being devoted to making the computer “disappear”, comparatively few research endeavours have concertedly explored the issues which arise when innovative artefacts are deployed in public settings. Innovations in “mixed reality”, “augmented reality” and “ubiquitous computing” tend to be confined to demonstrations, circumscribed trials or other controlled settings. However, a number of projects have begun to devote themselves to putting such technologies into the hands of the public and reflecting on the design and development issues that are encountered as a result. In particular, the SHAPE project was concerned with deploying innovative technologies in public settings, most notably museums. Over the course of our research, we developed an orientation to design which combines social scientific study, close collaboration with museum personnel and visitors, and a characteristic approach for technology deployment. In this chapter, we describe this orientation, exemplify it through accounts of the exhibitions the project has built at a number of museums in different European countries, and assess its broader implications for research on human-computer interaction, ubiquitous computing, and allied concerns.