Evolving museums into pervasive services

Museums did not change much in the last decades. Most of them are still focused on static exhibition of artwork where visitor interaction is at best constrained to the use of audio guides with static audible recordings. In our opinion they persist on an obsolete model missing the potential of the information technologies to complement and enrich the visitor experience. This paper describes a new conception of museums, where the classic view is enhanced with an extensive support of pervasive services. Moreover, this work also presents AIMTOUR, an affordable solution built on this new conception. This system proves that technology is mature enough to offer pervasive services at a reduced cost.