lensart
ai museum companion for seniors
among italy's historic splendor, art and culture remain treasured passions for the elderly. seniors eagerly participate in museum outings to connect with their rich heritage. lensart transforms these experiences—an ai-powered camera that becomes each visitor's personal curator, revealing the stories behind any artwork that catches their eye, bringing centuries of history to life with just a glance.
the brief
the common topic was designing for the long life of the elderly. the challenge for the two weeks of this course — discovering the relationship between the elderly in italy and art and culture. the team began mapping keywords to be able to find a topic to dive deeper into.
seek and you shall find
the team shortlisted a bunch of potential participants to interview in the city of bergamo in italy. after synthesising and drawing insights from the research, one thing that stood out the most was group visits to museums. the problem? with museum guides, the elderly do not have the freedom to spend more time in front of an artwork that they find interesting. so, we set out to solve for two things — pace and depth of information.
build. test. repeat.
this is a motto we religiously follow at ciid. and likewise, we made a bunch of lo-fi prototypes quickly to test. this phase was a little tough to get by as we had to keep plenty of things in mind about the group we were designing for. long story short, the camera was a clear winner.
but what does it actually do?
visitors receive a lensart camera and earphones at the museum entrance. by simply pointing it at any artwork, they instantly access fascinating details about the piece. curious about something specific? they can ask the built-in ai questions and receive knowledgeable responses. short on time? visitors can bookmark favorite pieces to explore later - when returning the device, staff export these selections, sending a link to continue the immersive experience from home.
look ma, we're famous!
our project was featured in bergamo's local newspaper l'eco di bergamo on 10th november 2024. this is a big step forward for ciid and us as we try to involve the community in our design journey!
