Rijks Uncovered is a new envisioned experience service at the Rijksmuseum. It ties in perfectly with the existing ecosystem of database, website and app, and starts as soon as visitors set foot in the museum. There, they are asked to share location data in the museum with the system so that the bluetooth chip in the smartphone can connect to the bluetooth beacons in the building. This determines exactly how long visitors stand near a particular artwork so how much interest there is in it. This information could be very interesting for the museum, for example in the redesign of galleries.
At the end of the gallery, visitors are given the choice of experiencing the Rijks Uncovered experience on site in a booth or later in the app. In the booth, a personal selection of artworks is loaded onto a hyper-realistic display. These are hidden artworks from the museum depot based on the style, theme or another property of the longest viewed works in the gallery. Visitors can discuss them with none other than the most famous Dutch master, Rembrandt van Rijn, represented by a AI-powered chatbot.
If visitors choose not to enter the booth, they will later be reminded by the Rijks app to be able to have their personal experience at home as well. While swiping through their personal art selection, they can still have a conversation with Rembrandt using a bell or chat function. Finally, they can save their new discoveries in the Rijks studio and share them on social media.
Project duration
February 2021 – April 2021
COURSE
Designing Connected Experiences
co-creators
Freek Eigenraam
Romée Postma
Babette van Lieverloo
client
Rijkslab
assessing coach
Wouter van der Hoog
final grade
9,0 / 10
Unique Selling Points
Enter into conversation with centuries-old artist via AI technology
Based on personal preferences, discover works not exhibited at the Rijksmuseum
Does not affect existing experience of museum visit: voluntary & non-committal
Integrated with existing Rijks ecosystem
Added value for Rijksmuseum
Rijks Uncovered…
- Provides artworks from the depot a stage for the general public
- Extends the visit through unique Rijks Uncovered experience in the app
- Delivers insight into visitor interests
- Connects to Rijkslab’s Cognitive Services Track
Added value for visitors
Rijks Uncovered…
- Makes visits to the Rijksmuseum more meaningful by uncovering stories behind art
- Makes visits more personal by seeing hidden artworks that suit you
- Makes visits to Rijks more memorable with a unique experience in the booth
Prototypes
The Rijks Uncovered experience concept was developled through 3 design sprints with ideation, prototypes and tests. The AI system technology and interaction has never been engineered, but only envisioned and presented in the form of ‘Minimal Viable Products’, mockups that test critical assumptions on the concept use.