Multisensory Augmented Reality Experiences for Cultural Heritage Exhibitions

Human beings interact with the external world through the perception that they get by touching, looking at, listening to, tasting and smelling it. Even if this exploration is essential to identify opportunities and dangers, today it is also used to investigate, understand and enjoy objects that surround us and to use them to manage our life, have fun, increase our knowledge, relax, etc. To date, interaction is based primarily on sight, on hearing and on touch. Very little interaction, however, is based on smell, a sense considered very difficult to manage and to use for creating more pleasant and effective experiences. Yet, olfactory stimuli can make the interaction between users and objects more engaging and effective on sub-conscious levels and long-term memory. This can be particular relevant for museums, which are subjected to important changes in the way they use to involve visitors in their exhibitions. This work presents two case studies of olfactory experiences integrated in applications for cultural heritage purposes, and effectively used to enhance the user interaction and experience.