An Ontology Engineering Approach to User Profiling for Virtual Tours of Museums and Galleries

This paper describes a study of the development of a hierarchical ontology for producing and maintaining personalized profiles to improve the experience of visitors to virtual art galleries and museums. The paper begins by describing some of the features of virtual exhibitions and offers examples of virtual tours that the reader may wish to examine in more detail. The paper then discusses the ontology engineering (OE) approach and domain modelling languages (e.g. KACTUS, SENSUS and METHONTOLOGY). It then follows a basic OE approach to define classes for a cultural heritage virtual tour and to produce a Visitor Profile Ontology that is hierarchical and has static and dynamic elements. It concludes by suggesting ways in which the ontology may be automated to provide a richer, more immersive personalized visitor experience.