The CIMI Handscape project was funded by Intel Corporation to explore the design, uses, and evaluation of mobile guides in museums and other heritage sites. Cornell`s Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Group has been involved in this effort primarily as evaluators of existing handheld tour guides, such as the ones undertaken by the Smithsonian American Art Museums Renwick Gallery and the Cornell Herbert Johnson Museum`s Asia Program for third-grade students.

The HCI Group wanted to explore the design, uses, and evaluation of mobile guides in museums and other heritage sites as compared to live proctors.

The HCI Group built a museum simulator for generating large amounts of patron information. Originally, the simulator was conceived of purely as a temporary measure for generating a starting set of data that would allow us to test and refine different forms of representations with different audiences.

Curators suggested that the simulator may eventually be used as a planning device. If we inform the simulator with existing pattern information from real patrons, curators may be able to anticipate how certain changes in the exhibits -- for example adding or removing hot items to the tour -- might then influence resulting traffic patterns of visitors.

• Claire Larkin
• Kirsten Boehner
• Phoebe Sengers
• John Perkins
• Tim Brooke
• Cathy Klimaszewski