=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-1336/paper3
|storemode=property
|title=Augmented Museums Through Mobile Apps
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1336/paper3.pdf
|volume=Vol-1336
}}
==Augmented Museums Through Mobile Apps==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1336/paper3.pdf
Augmented Museums Through Mobile Apps
Antonio Laudazi1, Raffaele Boccaccini2
1,2
Marte5 SRL c/o Polo Scientifico e Tecnologico Magona, Cecina (LI) – Italy
a.laudazi@marte5.com; r.boccaccini@marte5.com
Abstract Historical and artistic heritage fruition lives a quick and
intensive introduction of new tools based on capabilities of personal
devices and mobile applications. Augmented reality (AR) could
represent a strategic media to join physical art crafts to web-based
contents and social media issues. Moreover AR could enhance links
between museums and local systems of tourist operators,
productions, manufacturing, commerce, helping in assure
economical sustainability of cultural founding. Marte5, as
innovative start-up company, in the ambit of “Polis” Tuscan
district, has developed those concepts into some focused R&D
works, both for museums as for historical heritage. These
experiences have shown how AR and moreover mobile tools could
help visitors to get a deeper regard on art crafts, but also how
mobile apps could extend visit experience and drive heritage
visitors to become also tourists and consumers. Such approach is
based on a strategic centrality of cultural and historical heritage in
creating positive relations with local economy, and requests a
review of traditional culture in museums conservation and
exposition.
1 Introduction
Marte 5 is an Italian start-up focused on mobile tools for augmented reality
(AR). AR is a technology that allows overlying physical world (objects,
surfaces, GPS points) with interactive contents such as video, images,
animations, 3D or web-based contents. Those contents are accessible, at this
step of evolution, trough “Apps” on devices like smart phones, tablets and e-
glasses.
AR makes possible to bring information “where” they are needed and “when”
needed, in a simple and innovative way, allowing also enriching crafts/sites or
products with new functions. This is a revolutionary concept that breaks down
the boundaries of the web letting objects speak for themselves. It’s “real
virtuality”.
This approach gives great development possibilities for expositions content
management, introducing new ways of interaction inside exhibitions, but also
before and after the visit.
Marte5 has analysed and developed some interesting R&D cases during last two
years, and would give contribution for a more comprehensive overview of
relations between ICT and museums management.
1.1 Museums and Apps: some insights
During last years main museums, art galleries, monuments and archaeological
sites, who decided to offer multimedia innovative services to its visitors, have
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evaluated to replace previous solutions (audio guides, paper catalogues) with
more complete and interactive App solutions. As economical impact, in Italy,
we refer, only in 2011, of 26 million visitors, for a gross tickets income of 110
million euro, increasing up from 80 million in 2001 and 104 in 2010 (data:
Italian Central Statistical Office, Ministry of Heritage and Cultural Activities).
It’s clear that mobile devices are becoming, all over the world, some like a
virtual expansion for everyone. In the third quarter of 2012 was reached the
threshold of 1 billion active devices worldwide, while in late 2013 number of
smart phones and tablet sells have passed PC ones also in Italy. As expected, it
is estimated that global adoption of smart phones will double the number of
users by 2015.
Regarding Italy, latest complete statistics for the year 2012 recorded 20 million
smart phones, 42% of the total, highlighting how the use of the Internet had a
marked increase, with 27.7 million users who were Internet connected at least
once in a month. A positive trend that has increased by 7% in 2013.
Some of the Museums Apps are available on mobile stores (Google Play,
Apple Store):
1 – Maxxi: a web-app for Maxxi expositions information. Available as free
download.
2 – Uffizi: well structured App, with visit proposed paths for Uffizi Galleries,
preview of 33 works, news section and general info such as opening hours and
ticket costs. The application is priced at € 1.79.
3 - Vusiem British Museums - Guide to the British Museums paths with maps,
with virtual interactive access to a part of the collection, descriptions and audio
guide, free distributed.
4 - Musee D' Orsay - web App, referred to museum website. The application is
free.
5 - Mic Museums Romans - is a simple application that lets you know in real
time all the events and information about the 20 museums of the circuit "Musei
in Comune" in Rome. This is not a single museum guide, but offers a gallery set
of pictures, texts and other information. The app is on sale for € 0.80.
6 - Marconi Museum – made by the Guglielmo Marconi Foundation, helps
discovering Villa Griffone, where Marconi Foundation and Museum are
estabilished. It’s free distributed.
7 - Hopper Exhibition, National Museum of the Prado, Rafael Exhibition. It is
high quality set of Apps, developed by a Spanish international company
operating in the field of museum services. Each App provides functions of audio
guide and virtual tour for these museums, and is on sale at the standard price of
€ 1.99.
8 - National Museum of Korea. It’s a complete museum guide, well made,
royalty-free as completely financed by the Ministry of Tourism to promote
Korean culture.
9 - The Louvre by Fileos. Audio guide for Louvre museum visit, available in
sale for € 0.95.
1.2 Augmented reality on paintings exposition – “Salone dell’arte e del
restauro di Firenze 2012” case study
One of our firsts relevant experiences in AR tools for cultural heritage has been
developed by Marte5 as technical sponsor of “Salone dell’Arte e del Restauro”
of Florence, in November 2012.
During this exposition we showcased some museums solutions based on
augmented reality mobile apps. One of the most interesting content was on a
painting that had been restored during the exhibition. In this case AR was
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intended as a tool supporting restoring operations. Every graphic and
photographic data, as different light exposition pictures, was visible for
restaurateur directly upon the real painting, using a tablet and a specific mobile
App.
Figure 1. Different light conditions simulated with augmented reality tools on a
real paint during “Salone dell’Arte e del Restauro” of Florence 2012 exibition.
1.3 ARTiblisi project: augmented reality in heritage valorisation
A very interesting experience was developed during 2013 by University of
Florence, Faculty of Architecture, under the coordination of Paola Puma and
Nana Iashvili for Tbilisi State Academy of Art (TSAA), in the ambit of a
research activity on new tools for heritage information management and fruition
[Pum12].
In this case Marte5 provided a standard augmented reality browser (Marte5, free
distributed for Android and iOS) and a set of augmented reality contents
developed with the research team.
This work, presented to Georgian authorities had a great appreciation and is now
in a second founding stage for a complete implementation on Tiblisi historical
heritage.
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Figure 2. “ARTiblisi” project augmented reality application screenshot.
Figure 3. “ARTiblisi” project presentation image.
1.4 “ARt!” mobile tool for customs museums visits
During 2013 Marte 5 has summarized previous experience in “ARt!” project.
“ARt!” is a standardized mobile App for museum fruition, designed for iOS and
Android system that can be used on smartphones and tablets. Currently standard
provided functions are the followings:
AUGMENTED REALITY - It is the most innovative proposal function from
Marte 5. A dedicated tool within the application activate the camera and allows
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to view multimedia and interactive contents, simply framing paintings or
artworks, seamlessly integrated with the work itself, offering a totally immersive
experience, with critical studies, reading keys and new ways of fruition such as,
for example, sound and videos in real time.
CATALOGUE - Display .pdf catalogs related to museum exhibitions, in various
languages and high-resolution images.
EVENTS - Provides interactive informations about events or exhibitions.
MEDIA- Immediate access to audio-visual content related to the activities of the
museum.
WEB - Connections to the museum's website, social networks, access to
promotions and on-line ticketing.
BOOK SHOP - Links to any e-commerce channels through which it is possible
to buy books, gadgets and objects related to the activities of the museum.
AUDIO GUIDE - Audio guides in various languages can be heard by a
dedicated function, organizing content for thematic routes, areas of interest or
individual works.
Figure 4. “Art!” Augmented reality tool sample on Picasso’s “Guernica”.
(See also video on Link: http://vimeo.com/55766752)
2 Conclusions
Smart devices, as already discussed, have a great diffusion and should than be
evaluated as the first choice for every direct interaction between visitors and
artistic, cultural and historical heritage.
Each mobile device, in a deeper view, could be than considered as an added
room of user’s house: a place where he/her spend a good part of the day and
share information and interactions with other people (a social network family,
enlarged to “circles” and “friends”).
A mobile App could than be considered as a great opportunity to bring cultural
and artistic contents in the life of wide range of users, constantly increasing.
Economical sustainability of those projects can be enhanced by various
foundings options, depending on the aim of the application and a forecast
number of users. In all analyzed cases a preview of 300.000 visitors/year could
now be considered as a minimum level for a dedicated project with a pay-back
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based on in-app purchase, while for greater number of visitors this way of
distribution could give an extra revenue.
Augmented reality it’s just a part of such projects, but represents a very
interesting way of interacting within an exhibition, expecially because this
technology does not add any physical elements (even if very small, like
QRcodes) and is than absolutely non-invasive.
But augmented reality could also be used to create innovative links between to
the economic “biosphere” of a museum or historical heritage. This concept, that
will be use also in next EXPO 2015 in Milan, has been experimented by Marte5
in the first eno-touristic App guide of San Miniato (San Miniato Wine and
Truffles, free distributed, for iOS).
In this case the discovery of San Miniato historical heritage is connected,
through augmented reality, with the discovery of wines and wineries of the area,
creating an innovative interaction that does not sacrifice cultural quality contents
of the project, but creates an interesting path for visitors and help in discovering
new sites that are commonly not visited by tourists.
Figure 5. “San Miniato Wine And Truffles” augmented reality guide
presentation picture on Apple Store. (See also App video on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rM-R_khrgI).
References
[Pum12] Puma, P., 2012. Local cultures, global heritage: surveying,
collecting, communicating - new information models for
knowledge and dissemination of cultural heritage. ,
ARACNE EDITRICE, pp. 600-608, ISBN:9788854848412
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