# Participatory Exhibition-Viewing Using Augmented Reality and Analysis of Visitor Behavior
## 1 Introduction  
Various exhibitions currently employ augmented reality (AR) technology primarily to enhance the visitor experience, allowing artworks or exhibits to display dynamic effects and interact with visitors, increasing the overall enjoyment of the exhibition. AR technology can also be utilized to design AR games within specific venues, enabling interactions between exhibits or the environment, providing entertainment and challenges [1]. However, AR technology in exhibitions is usually focused on individual experiences, and its social and interactive aspects are relatively weak [2]. Furthermore, understanding the impact of shared AR functionalities on visitor behavior within exhibition venues is a topic worthy of analysis. Traditional methods of analyzing visitor behavior usually involve additional hardware setups, which, while providing precise information, can be challenging and costly to implement in conjunction with exhibitions [3, 4]. Surveys and interviews, on the other hand, often lead to biased behavioral data due to visitors relying on their memories torecall the exhibition experience [5]. Recognizing these challenges, researchers leverage the inherent physical space positioning capabilities of AR. In addition to offering AR content for viewing within the exhibition space, the researchers utilize visitors' mobile devices as analytical tools. The approach utilized in this research is rooted in the navAR system, a creation of [PERSON], [PERSON], and [PERSON] [6]. navAR is an AR navigation application developed with considerations for visitors, content providers, and researchers. This system captures and uploads visitor behavior data to an online database automatically. In a library-based AR book-finding experiment, it was observed that users' book-finding paths were more straightforward when augmented by AR technology [7]. This same app was gamified for an art exhibition with the intention of controlling crowd flow [8]. Results showed that the gamified AR navigation successfully guided exhibition visitors to follow the designed paths. Notably, both of these applications were designed for passive use. The current paper investigates the influences of an app that enables the visitors of an exhibition to participate by leaving their own marks on the exhibits through AR technology, thereby increasing visitor engagement. How does this active participation differ from passive viewing behavior? Therefore, to understand the behavioral differences between viewers experiencing exhibitions passively and actively participating through AR technology, our focus was the 2022 Greater Taipei Biennial of Contemporary Art exhibition held at the Yo-Chang Art Museum in Taiwan. In accordance with the exhibition theme \"Log Into Our Sea\" (Appendix A), we created the exhibit titled \"Wander Into Our Sea\". In coordination with curatorial needs, the exhibition rooms introduced and displayed the achievements of five centers belonging to the Yo-Chang Art Museum of the National Taiwan University of Arts. Visitors could use the AR app to explore the exhibit and participate in the exhibition by adding AR text messages to the exhibition space (Appendix B). During the exhibition, utilizing the AR positioning feature, the app collected visitors' behavior data through their smartphones and uploaded the data to the online database automatically. This approach enabled researchers to analyze behavioral differences between the two modes, providing a reference for future engagements where audiences participate in exhibit content through AR technology. Additionally, it offers a framework for cultivating \"interactive sociality\" in museums through the social value of AR technology. The main contribution of this study lies in the creation of an innovative participatory exhibition-viewing system utilizing AR technology, accompanied by a detailed analysis of visitor behavior to explore the impact of different viewing modes on audience interaction and participation.