Measure the Future enables OU Libraries to answer important questions about how the public engages with our physical exhibitions. Measure the Future allows us to tell the difference between an engaged visitor interacting with the exhibition and a student walking down the hallway. Better understanding that nuance helps us make continuous improvements to physical layouts, rotate content to keep the material engaging, and identify underutilized areas. 

Our first test of this system in the “Renegades” exhibition included six ‘scouts’ strategically placed throughout the gallery space. Each ‘scout’ is a self-contained system made up of a Raspberry Pi 3 (a tiny computer), a 32 gb micro usb card (to store the data), and
an HD webcam. The six cameras analyze activity within the viewport, measuring the duration a person interacts with various parts of the exhibition. It shows what sections of the exhibition attract the most engagement and which, if any, get ignored. It does this without capturing images or any other personally identifying information and maintains the privacy and trust expected from University Libraries.