Understanding Cultural Experiences Through Behaviour

Cultural spaces such as museums, heritage sites, and exhibitions have always sought to understand how visitors interact with the stories they present. Traditionally, this is achieved by observing the number of people visiting these places or through the occasional survey. However, with the increasing trend of cultural environments transitioning towards immersive digital places, new opportunities to learn from “digital” visitors and their exploration habits have emerged. In the ELLIE project, our team in Bi2S has developed a behavioural analysis model that enables cultural and creative institutions to better understand visitor engagement in virtual spaces, improve user experiences, and generate meaningful insights for the organisations hosting these environments.

Rather than focusing on technology for its own sake, the goal of our work is simple: to observe how people interact with cultural environments and use those insights to make the environments more engaging and worthwhile. In the virtual and interactive Cultural and Creative Industry (CCI) settings, people move from one space to another, spending more time with certain exhibits or interacting with the objects in a variety of ways. In some spaces, people seem immediately attracted, while in others, they seem to ponder for longer. The observation of people’s natural behaviour, can help the system to formulate an idea of what really holds the interest of the participants.

This type of insight is potentially extremely valuable to CCI organisations, since it enables them to look beyond the number of visitors and gain a deeper understanding of how a space is being used. It might, for instance, reveal which exhibits create the strongest engagement, which areas of a museum are frequently overlooked, or how visitors move through different parts of an exhibition. In this respect, the analysis is empowers the organisations to make better decisions on how to present culture in a more effective way.

At the same time, ELLIE’s model is also geared to provide a better visitor experience. The fact is that every visitor has a unique relationship with cultural heritage. Some people want to discover things on their own, while others desire more guidance and support in discovering things that might otherwise overlook. ELLIE attempts to understand how visitors interact with space, and then, applies gradual visual changes that are in line with the visitor’s interests. This approach provides users with dynamic suggestions that are influenced by both their long-term behavioural patterns and their momentary interests. It is important to emphasize that rather than presenting intrusive visual prompts, the system introduces minimal visual changes within the interface. These adjustments subtly emphasise exhibits or areas that may correspond to the visitor’s interests. This way we support awareness and discovery while preserving a natural exploration experience.

In ELLIE, the cultural space can change and become a much more engaging place. People are able to explore and discover the exhibits at their own pace, and enjoy a higher quality of experience by the supported dynamic environments. At the same time, the cultural institutions are able to learn and get a deeper understanding on how visitors interact with the cultural space and exhibits. The result is a symbiotic relationship between the visitor and the cultural space, where the content becomes much more accessible and engaging, while remaining authentic and faithful to the cultural heritage presented.

Ultimately, ELLIE demonstrates the value of behavioral insights in the interplay between people and cultural heritage. Our tools give the opportunity to cultural institutions to develop experiences that both educate and engage visitors. In this ecosystem, technology functions not only as a medium for presenting cultural heritage but also as a tool for understanding its relevance and interpretation in the present day.