Predicting the future of our history

Predicting the future of our history

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

December 21st, 2017

Dexibit announced today the launch of its new forecasting tool, which predicts visitation for cultural institutions globally.

Before now, museums battled with trying to guess visitation numbers in advance, many over or under estimating audience figures with ramifications to revenue, experience or efficiency. For many museums, establishing an accurate annual visitorship figure is a hard task, let alone more granular estimates for day to day operations.

Using machine learning, Dexibit’s new patent pending forecasting module automatically detects and analyses the influence of a wide range of factors on museum visitation – from seasonality, day of week and exhibition schedules through to regional events, cruise ship dockings and even the weather, which Dexibit uses to predict future attendance.

With artificial intelligence, Dexibit has been able to forecast museum visitation over a year in advance with granularity down to the hour, achieving accuracies upwards of 90%. This unique insight will be used by museums for strategic planning and daily operations, particularly visitor facing activities such as rostering, tours and retailing. The practical applications of this technology will help museums increase revenue and decrease costs while improving visitor experience

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The original research project behind the development was a collaboration between Dexibit and client Te Papa Tongarewa, together with Government agency Callaghan Innovation via Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development (ATEED) and the data science programme at Auckland University.

Angie Judge, Chief Executive Officer at Dexibit, said:
“This innovation to bring predictive analytics into the museum world is pivotal for the adoption of artificial intelligence amongst the world’s cultural institutions. Dexibit are incredibly grateful for the special support we’ve had in partnership with Te Papa, Callaghan Innovation and Auckland University in helping us realise our vision to predict the future of our history.”

Melissa Firth, Chief Digital Officer at Te Papa Tongarewa, said:

“Te Papa has had a mandate to meet the challenges of the future, and a passion for innovation. Partnering with Dexibit is helping us understand, connect with and delight our audiences.”

Callaghan Innovation CEO Vic Crone, said:
“We’re proud to have helped Dexibit to achieve international success by providing them with advice, connections and R&D grants. They’re the kind of innovative, high-tech company with global aspirations that New Zealand needs more of.”

The data firm has already launched a number of additional predictive analytics research and development projects to deliver further forecasting capability to the museum market.

ABOUT DEXIBIT

Dexibit is the global market leader for museum analytics. Dexibit’s software as a service includes personalised dashboards, automated reporting and intelligent insights specifically designed for cultural institutions.

ABOUT TE PAPA TONGAREWA

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington and welcoming 1.8 million visitors a year through its doors.

ABOUT CALLAGHAN INNOVATION

Callaghan Innovation is the government’s business innovation agency. It is here to liberate innovators. Callaghan Innovation connects businesses to the networks, capability and funding they need to make their ideas happen. It challenges both its customers and New Zealand to step up to the challenge of technological change. It has more than 200 of New Zealand's leading scientists dedicated to solving tough technical problems, programmes that help hundreds of companies improve their ability to innovate, and boosts business R&D through more than $140m a year in grants.

ABOUT REGIONAL BUSINESS PARTNER NETWORK (RBPN)
The Regional Business Partner Network (RBPN) helps New Zealand businesses innovate and grow by making it easier to access early stage business support. The network is made up of ATEED and 13 other Regional Business Partners throughout New Zealand and is supported by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and Callaghan Innovation.

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