Interactive 3D exploration of a virtual sculpture collection: an analysis of user behavior in museum settings

We present a usage analysis of an interactive system for the exploration of highly detailed 3D models of a collection of protostoric mediterranean sculptures. In this system, after selecting the object of interest inside the collection, its detailed 3D model and associated information are presented at high resolution on a large vertical display controlled by a touch-enabled horizontal surface placed at a suitable distance in front of it. The indirect user interface combines an object-aware interactive camera controller with an interactive point-of-interest selector and is implemented within a scalable implementation based on multiresolution structures shared between the rendering and user interaction subsystems. The system has been installed in several temporary and permanent exhibitions, and has been extensively used by tens of thousands of visitors. We provide here a data-driven analysis of usage experience based on logs gathered during a 24 months period in four exhibitions in Archeological museums, for a total of over 75K exploration sessions. The results highlight the main trends in visitor behavior during the interactive sessions, which can provide useful insights for the design of 3D exploration user interfaces in future digital installations.