CSIRO’s Museum Robot project - or Mobile Telepresence for Museums - will be trialled at the National Museum of Australia (NMA) and will see a robot accompany museum education staff through the Museum.

Remote visitors, such as a class of school students in rural and regional Australia, will be able to interact with an educator, providing an interactive learning experience.

The trial will be conducted by CSIRO and will take place in the National Museum of Australia’s Landmarks: People and Places Across Australia Gallery, which features Australian icons such as Phar Lap’s heart and the Holden Prototype No 1, the original Holden motor car. During the trial, the robot will be accessible by schools and libraries with a connection to the national broadband network.

The remote visitor (for the trial, a class of school students and their teacher) will be able to look around the museum and interact with the educator through the Museum Robot. The remote end of the system can be operated wherever there is a high-speed broadband connection, like that provided by the national broadband network (NBN).

The total cost of the trial will be A$3.5 million, jointly provided by Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, CSIRO and the National Museum of Australia.

Why is this project important?

A significant proportion of Australians cannot easily visit Australia’s national institutions such as museums, galleries and cultural spaces, and so lack access to important aspects of their cultural heritage and wider educational resources.

The technology developed in this project will offer a solution which allows all Australians with an NBN connection to visit our national museums and galleries via the Museum Robot. It will demonstrate a technology that will allow regional and rural Australians to experience access to national treasures despite the tyranny of distance.

What will the trial deliver?

• A report on the educational outcomes and benefits of enabling remote museum visits via the Museum Robot enabled by the NBN
• An implementation blueprint for the ongoing operation of the technology in the NMA and deployment in other institutions.

View a demonstration and learn more about the Museum Robot project.