Enriching people's experience at CH sites with IoT technology

The Internet of Things (IoT) technology is valuable for connecting physical objects to the digital world. IoT-based systems have the potential to enrich people's experiences with CH collections; indeed, sensors and other data-collecting devices embedded into tangible artifacts can capture real-time information about visitors' interactions with CH objects and permit the creation of customized narratives and experiences based on visitors' interests, preferences, and prior knowledge. To identify the strengths and weaknesses of IoT solutions and the factors that impact on the experiences of visitors of CH sites, we created an IoT-based game called Magic Torch and performed an experimental study involving a total of 18 visitors, in order to analyze whether and how this game affects the experience of museum visitors. Its results show that the use of IoT positively impacts visitors' emotions and overall experience; they also indicate some drawbacks.