A scoping review on haptic-mediated immersive museum experiences (HM-IMEs): trends, mechanisms and opportunities

Abstract Haptic-mediated immersive museum experiences (HM-IMEs) are expanding rapidly, yet the evidence remains fragmented and difficult to translate into museum-facing design and evaluation guidance. We conducted a PRISMA-ScR scoping review of 72 empirical studies across laboratory, mixed, and in-museum contexts, charted using System–Mechanism–Outcome descriptors, system-configuration codes, and evaluation measures. The literature is mechanism-rich but unevenly stabilised: sensory congruence and narrative/threshold orchestration are frequently reported and operationalised, whereas motor-contingent guidance and accessibility mediation are less consistently specified. Progress is further constrained by under-reporting of actuation and mapping logic and by an evaluation ecology dominated by self-report, with limited mixed in-situ evidence. We therefore reframe haptics as a museum-facing mediation layer and deliver three transferable outputs: an integrated System–Mechanism–Outcome taxonomy, an evaluation ecology map, and a minimum reporting set to support deployable HM-IME design, more consistent validation across settings, and cumulative cross-study comparability.