Abstract
Augmented reality experience is becoming mainstream with the advancements in mobile computing as well as wireless communication technologies (cellular communication, global positioning system known as GPS, Wi-Fi, etc.), and proliferating personal usage of mobile technology in everyday life. Usage areas of AR have expanded from military technology to health, from manufacturing to education, and even to entertainment. Mobile AR experiences are widely accepted socially with the increasing usage of games and mobile applications (apps) such as ‘Pokémon GO’, ‘Snapchat’ or ‘Instagram’. Besides pioneering technology companies like Apple, Facebook and Google have already initiated research activities and made a great deal of investment in augmented reality to explore creative and innovative ways of using it. Museums, as repositories of historical and archeological material evidence, are seen as fundamental sources of establishing and advancing knowledge. On the other hand, emerging information and computer technologies (ICT) and mobile media continue to transform the ways of presenting information in museums. In recent years, museums started to become curious about the potentials of augmented reality as a “visitor technology” for education and enjoyment purposes of museums and the first applications of augmented reality have been used in the museums. As a result, a couple of the prominent museums have conducted and/or supported various research about augmented reality applications in museums in order to explore how this technology can be used more efficiently and innovatively yet defining the surplus-value of augmented reality experience in museums requires more scientific research and tests about its potentials, benefits, and pitfalls. The findings of this article are the result of a postgraduate thesis that focuses on the potentials of mobile augmented reality as a new media for museum interpretation. In the article, mobile augmented reality is used to refer to the convergence of augmented reality experience with mobile apps, mobile augmented reality experience that superimposes an extra interpretive layer on objects and museum environments. Taken into consideration that the next few years are likely to witness a considerable increase in the mobile museum guides, games, or apps featured with augmented reality, the article discusses mobile augmented reality as a new media which is used with the purpose of merging observational and interpretational aspects of visiting an exhibition by intertwining collection objects and the related contextual information. The article, which provides and literature review and evaluation of prominent cases, starts with generally accepted definitions of augmented reality and continues with its usage areas in museum exhibitions as a ‘visitor technology’. The part called ‘Mobile Augmented Reality for Museum Interpretation’ suggests the content and type of interaction as two significant components that develop compelling mobile augmented reality experiences. The conclusion presents practical recommendations for museums in order to promote the compelling use of mobile augmented reality as an emerging media for interpretation in museum exhibitions.
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