Challenge: WHY the innovation has been developed? What problem is addressed and why has not been not solved before?

Cultural heritage continuously seek to engage visitors via digital means in novel ways, but screen-based interactions are not new. Screens also capture visitors’ attention to the detriment of the experience and the appreciation for the collection. meSch installations use smart objects and intelligent spaces to bridge the gap between the material and the digital and deliver curated and personalised digital content as part of the physical visiting experience.

Solution: WHAT the solution is about? HOW it goes beyond the state of the art?

meSch has developed a hardware and software platform for creating tangible and immersive installations for personalised visitors' experiences. With meSch, cultural heritage organisations and professionals can easily create smart objects and spaces for novel interactive experiences. The platform is composed by: a browser-based editor to upload content and define the visitors’ interaction, and a set of smart blocks (sensors, actuators, and small computing units) to compose the smart setting the visitor interacts with. The use of Cloud Computing (for the online editor) and the Internet of Things (for the physical smart components) allows to edit the content and instantaneously deploy it on the physical configuration of the smart blocks supporting fast prototyping and the exploration of different solutions. The visitors’ experience on-site continues on-line via personalised and recommended content created using the data from the visit. meSch enables cultural heritage institutions to independently create personally meaningful, sensorily rich, and socially expanded visitor’s experiences.

End-users and examples of uses: WHO will beneficiate/ is beneficiating from the solution? WHERE and HOW the solution has been adopted? How will impact people or end-users? Add as more as possible examples of market and society uptakes

meSch targets cultural heritage professionals - e.g. curators and exhibition designers, for the benefit of visitors. It allows professionals to fast-prototype and deploy interactive installations that engage both the senses and the imagination. Over 40 professionals and 20.000 visitors have tried the meSch technology in hands-on events organised by the meSch team. The system has already attracted interest from cultural and tourism organizations. The SME company ECTRL Solutions is making meSch a commercial product.

Future possibilities: Future market perspectives when the innovation will be fully available or in use

meSch has been already used to develop exhibitions in museums, to create trails outdoors, to enhance permanent collections. It has also been used in retailing (smart showcases) and tourism.

References for more information (eg. website, social media)

Contacts:

Daniela Petrelli (d.petrelli@shu.ac.uk)

Adriano Venturini (venturini@ectrlsolutions.com)