Multimedia at work: Natural interfaces to enhance visitors' experiences

The authors present a multimedia system that really works in a cultural public space. Indeed, if you go to Florence and visit the museum of Palazzo Medici Riccardi, you might see a queue of worldwide tourists waiting for their turn to play with a digital version of the famous fresco The Journey of the Magi, appearing on two large screens. Visitors stand in front of the screens and point with their hands to the part of the painting they're interested in. Two cameras grab this point and an algorithm calculates the exact part of the painting the person selected. In response to the pointing, an audio response gives information on the subjects or objects. Visitors seem to deeply enjoy their interaction wi th the system, which does feel natural. Visitors wear no special equipment and use no complex hardware; the fresco is extremely well displayed, and typically the information is precise and interesting, with different levels of information available.