EMOTIVE · Project

Storytelling Platform That Makes Museum Visits Personal and Emotionally Engaging

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Imagine visiting a museum where instead of reading dry labels on walls, your phone tells you a story that actually makes you feel something — maybe a soldier's last letter home or the drama behind a stolen artifact. The EMOTIVE project built a platform that lets museum staff create these kinds of emotionally engaging, personalized digital experiences without needing to code. Visitors get stories tailored to their interests, and they can even connect with the site remotely as a virtual museum. Think of it as Netflix-style personalization, but for cultural heritage.

By the numbers

consortium partners

countries represented

total project deliverables

pilot experience iterations (prototype, beta, final)

38%

industry partner ratio in consortium

SMEs in consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Museums and cultural heritage sites struggle with visitor engagement — most people walk through reading text panels without feeling emotionally connected to the content. Traditional audio guides are linear and impersonal. Meanwhile, cultural sites want to reach remote audiences but lack tools to create compelling virtual experiences without expensive custom development.

The solution

What was built

The project built an authoring platform that lets museum staff create interactive, emotionally engaging digital stories without coding, plus mobile and web-based visitor experiences. Three rounds of pilot experiences were delivered — from early prototypes through beta to final-release versions — tested at real European cultural sites.

Audience

Who needs this

Museum and heritage site operators looking to boost visitor engagementTourism experience companies building cultural destination productsEdTech platforms creating interactive history and culture contentCity and regional tourism boards digitizing cultural assetsExhibition designers creating immersive visitor journeys

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Museums and Cultural Heritage

any

Target: Museum operators and heritage site managers

If you are a museum or heritage site struggling with declining visitor engagement and repeat visits — this project developed an authoring platform that lets your curators create interactive, emotionally engaging digital stories without coding skills. Pilot experiences were tested at major European cultural sites with 8 consortium partners across 5 countries. The platform personalizes the narrative to each visitor's interests and emotional responses.

Tourism and Travel Tech

mid-size

Target: Tourism experience platforms and destination management companies

If you are a tourism company looking to differentiate cultural destinations beyond basic audio guides — this project built mobile and web-based storytelling experiences that connect remote visitors to real sites through virtual museums. The system was piloted through three rounds of testing from prototype to final release. This turns any cultural site into a bookable digital experience accessible worldwide.

EdTech and Digital Learning

SME

Target: Educational content providers and e-learning platforms

If you are an education company that needs to make history and culture come alive for students — this project created tools rooted in didactics research that generate personalized, interactive narratives around cultural content. With 22 deliverables including mobile and web-based pilot experiences, the platform was designed for non-technical authors to create compelling learning journeys that trigger emotional engagement and deeper understanding.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to license or use this storytelling platform?

The project was publicly funded as a Research and Innovation Action, so core research results are typically available through open or negotiated licensing. Specific pricing would need to be discussed with the coordinator EXUS SOFTWARE LTD. Contact them to understand commercial terms for the authoring system and deployment options.

Can this scale to large museum networks or multiple sites?

The platform was designed for both on-site mobile experiences and remote virtual museum access, suggesting built-in scalability. It was piloted across multiple cultural sites in Europe through a network of 8 partners in 5 countries. The web-based architecture should support multi-site deployment.

Who owns the intellectual property?

IP is shared among the 8 consortium partners according to their EU grant agreement. The coordinator EXUS SOFTWARE LTD, a UK-based SME, is the primary commercial contact. Licensing arrangements would need to be negotiated directly with the consortium.

How mature is the technology — is it ready to deploy?

The project completed three rounds of piloting: early prototypes, beta-release experiences, and final-release pilot experiences at major cultural sites. Based on available project data, the platform reached a piloted stage with real visitors at real heritage locations. Some integration and customization work would be needed for new deployments.

What technical integration is needed?

The system includes an authoring tool for content creators and mobile/web-based visitor experiences. Based on the deliverable descriptions, experiences run on standard mobile and web platforms, which reduces infrastructure requirements. Authors create content through the EMOTIVE Authoring System without needing programming skills.

Does the platform support multiple languages?

The consortium spans 5 countries (Greece, France, Ireland, Italy, UK), suggesting multilingual considerations were part of the design. Based on available project data, the storytelling platform was tested in multiple European cultural contexts. Specific language support details would need to be confirmed with the coordinator.

Consortium

Who built it

The EMOTIVE consortium is well-balanced for a cultural technology project, with 8 partners across 5 European countries (Greece, France, Ireland, Italy, UK). The 38% industry ratio (3 out of 8 partners) shows meaningful commercial involvement, including 2 SMEs. The coordinator EXUS SOFTWARE LTD is itself an SME, which often means faster decision-making and more willingness to commercialize results. The mix of 2 universities and 3 research organizations provided the academic depth in storytelling, didactics, and user experience, while the industry partners handled platform development and deployment. This balance suggests the technology was built with real-world use in mind, not just academic publication.

EXUS SOFTWARE LTDCoordinator · UK
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE EN INFORMATIQUE ET AUTOMATIQUEparticipant · FR
NOHO LIMITEDparticipant · IE
ATHINA-EREVNITIKO KENTRO KAINOTOMIAS STIS TECHNOLOGIES TIS PLIROFORIAS, TON EPIKOINONION KAI TIS GNOSISparticipant · EL
UNIVERSITY OF YORKparticipant · UK
CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHEparticipant · IT
CS GROUP - Franceparticipant · FR
UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOWparticipant · UK

How to reach the team

EXUS SOFTWARE LTD (UK-based SME) — use SciTransfer's coordinator lookup service to get direct contact details

Order a report on this consortium See EXUS SOFTWARE LTD profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how EMOTIVE's storytelling platform could transform your museum or cultural site? SciTransfer can connect you directly with the development team and help evaluate fit for your specific needs.

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