SenseTime SenseNova X Dunhuang Contemporary Art Museum: AI Helps Visitors Better Appreciate Dunhuang Art

Recently, visitors to the Dunhuang Contemporary Art Museum have been accompanied throughout their tour by an "AI scholar" that is emotive, art-literate, and warm. Unlike traditional audio guides that only unilaterally deliver fixed scripts, this is a humanized "multi-modal intelligent tour guide" — it not only narrates the artistic context and historical origins behind cultural relics vividly but also responds to visitors’ needs in real time. Supporting on-the-spot photo-taking, instant Q&A, and on-demand explanations, it intelligently recommends content based on visitors’ interests and generates personalized tour reports after the visit.

This is the "AI Wen Ke" — an AI intelligent guide jointly launched by SenseTime and the Dunhuang Contemporary Art Museum. Designed exclusively for cultural tourism scenarios, it is an integrated hardware-software AI tour guide product, consisting of an intelligent system based on SenseTime’s SenseNova multi-modal large model and various smart hardware such as the "Ling!” from Ling.ai. It serves as a "perceptive, thoughtful, and warm" AI narrative companion for visitors, redefining the traditional tour experience.

Redefining Traditional Tour Experiences with Multi-modal Interaction and In-depth Thinking Capabilities

Located in Yangpu District, Shanghai, the Dunhuang Contemporary Art Museum takes Dunhuang as its source of inspiration. It continuously conducts interdisciplinary research on Dunhuang’s world heritage, exploring the historical logic of modern Chinese art and the contemporary interpretation of traditional culture.

Currently on display is the 2025 exhibition "TA: Higher Heights", which focuses on the theme of "pagodas". It brings together more than 20 precious cultural relics spanning a thousand years from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, as well as over 20 sets of contemporary artworks. From interdisciplinary perspectives including historical contexts, architectural styles, literary imagery, and visual arts, the exhibition presents a multi-faceted understanding of pagodas.

Visitor using the "AI Wen Ke" guide

With the "AI Wen Ke", visitors have a "one-on-one" intelligent companion throughout their tour. Leveraging SenseTime SenseNova’s leading "multi-modal chain-of-thought" technology, the "AI Wen Ke" boasts powerful multi-modal interaction and in-depth thinking capabilities. Visitors can pause at any time, ask repeated questions, and interact through a combination of "voice + vision + text" — without having to worry about "falling behind". They control the pace of the tour, truly realizing the concept of "deciding what to see and how to see it on your own terms".

A child using the "AI Wen Ke" Mini guide

"AI Wen Ke" Accompanies Throughout the Tour: From "Check-in Style" to "In-depth Experience"

During the tour, when visitors spot an exhibit that interests them, they only need to take a photo with the "AI Wen Ke", which will automatically recognize the exhibit and vividly tell the historical and scientific knowledge behind it.

Photo guide function

After listening to the explanation, if visitors have more questions, they only need to ask the device one-on-one via voice to get personalized answers tailored to their interests. Whether they are delving into the historical origins behind cultural relics or inquiring about the creative background of a specific artistic detail, they receive immediate responses. This upgrades the tour experience from "one-way delivery" to "interactive dialogue", making the "AI Wen Ke" an ideal "tour companion for chatting while walking". Such real-time "question-and-answer" interaction turns the museum from a place for "quiet viewing" into a space for communication.

Content recommendation function

Moreover, if visitors want to hear insights from experts, they only need to click on "Curator’s Perspective" to access in-depth interpretations of each exhibit and artwork from Director Du of the Dunhuang Contemporary Art Museum. Combining the knowledge from the AI guide with the curator’s professional insights, visitors can perceive the profound meaning and value of the works from multiple dimensions, enriching and diversifying their tour experience.

On the guide interface, visitors can also choose the guide’s voice and style freely, such as "Trendy Voice", "Nostalgic Tone", or "Cute Tone". Whether the visitors are young people, the elderly, or children, everyone can find a style that suits them, enjoying the fun and experience of "one exhibit, a thousand perspectives".

Personalized report

After the visit, visitors can generate their exclusive "AI Tour Report" in the system, which includes data such as visit duration and number of Q&As, as well as unique personality tags. Wondering if you’re a "avid photographer" who loves checking in at every spot or an "academic enthusiast" focused on in-depth research? Just check what the AI has to say!

Centered on multi-modal intelligence as its core technical path, SenseTime’s "AI Wen Ke" also integrates functions such as virtual IP greeting, AR experience, answering popular tour questions, and intelligent guide route recommendation. It can be widely applied in scenarios including art galleries, museums, cultural tourism scenic spots, cultural parks, and events, bringing innovative interactive experiences and presentation methods. It truly accompanies visitors in achieving a leap in their experience— from "check-in style" to "in-depth experience", and from "one-way listening" to "dialogue and exploration".

Meanwhile, the product will continue to empower cultural industry operations in the future, helping operators of various venues and scenic spots upgrade their operation models from "human resource cost centers" to "data-driven decision-making". Ultimately, this will enable precise operations and improve retention and conversion rates. In the future, as the "AI Wen Ke" is deployed across more cultural tourism scenarios, it will not only drive the operational upgrading of venues but also help more people approach art and culture easily, making cultural inheritance "come alive" and "trendy".