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Local Tourist Guide in a (Linux) Box
Andrew Sealey writes "Antenna Audio, the largest heritage and tourism interpretation company has just licensed a location-based media platform and associated linux portable media device from a UK company called Node to enable them to do some pretty cool stuff with traditional tourist attractions. People will hire the linux based device at their entry point and then as they walk around and explore the attraction the device will search huge archives of rich media video and audio dependent on who a user is, where they are and what they are looking at. Their top sites in the US are places such as Alcatraz, MoMA in New York and Elvis Presley Graceland's property and the rumour is that Elvis's property may be one of the first to be converted to this new technology."
run windows?
The privacy issues associated with this are bugging me... what a cute disguise for a way to track foreigners :-P
Tux now lives in Graceland.
(Gee, I shouldn't post while I'm still on my first coffe of the day...)
I'm a gadget guy, so this caught my interest with a quickness. From a quick look at the site I'm just wondering...
Could there be some kind of GPS tech. involved where if you want to go to a specific exhibit in the museum it directs you that way from your current location. On a more mundane but no less important note, this would also be useful finding the restroom facilities at the game.(Important after a couple of beers)
These are the thoughts that keep me out of the really good schools I guess.
Seems futuristic enough. Seems like it would only appeal to a very limited audience though. Probably to expensive to implement. If I went on a tour of some place exotic, I'd much rather prefer a live person giving me a tour, or a headset and audio tour then having to lug a gameboy thing around and look at it. I could see this kind of technology making an otherwise boring tourist spot much more exciting though. Oh, wait a minute...
Meet new people, and kill them.
I think it's quite weird, distracting the tourist from the real thing. Sure, some trivia may be useful, but do I really want MEDIA flooding me when I stare at something ? Isn't the whole point of BEING there kind of defeated by staring at multimedia available to you from anywyere else ?
"walk around and explore",,,,,,,, "device will search huge archives of rich media video" got a min it sound like MS hype machine at work....
What about adware concerns? I am sure it will track all your whereabouts at all times and send you ads relating to those whereabouts. Technology is all about profit!
What does your Credit Report look like?
...and I just hope they make them less restrictive than the current audio-tour players. They were ok in most respects, except that it was not possible to rewind beyond the most recent "checkpoint" on the tour. Missed the end of that bit? Sorry, gotta keep the turnover up...keep moving!
Besides that, I think it would be rather distracting from the real-life thing you're there to see to have to devote a lot of eyeball time to watching a tiny screen. Much better would be some sort of head-mounted heads-up display overlaid on whatever you're looking at (inertial orientation sensors?). Circles and arrows (and an audio paragraph describing what each one is (thanks Arlo)) would actually be quite an improvement over the clunky method in the audio-only tour: "Now walk toward the door, away from A and B block, and stop at the windows on the right..." Sheesh.
Come to that point, it would probably be simpler to have wireless headphones fed from a roving tour robot, with a high-mounted screen to watch suplemental materials on, and a laser pointer to...well, point things out. This would actually be better than regular human tour guides, as competing tour groups would wind up competing with each other for sound.
Unless maybe you just give the human tour guide a corresponding headset mic and a laser pointer. Then all you're missing is the actual supplemental video. Hmmm.
"A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
"walk around and explore",,,,,,,, "device will search huge archives of rich media video" for a minute it sound like MS hype machine at work.... PS: are the tourits supposed to looking around the heirtage site or watching the device search and play from its huge meadia rich archive !?
I probably would'nt use this product but I enjoy the fact that Linux is enjoying much success in the embedded market. Linuxdevices.com has a recent article http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS5884511893.html / about another GPS enabled device.
This also brings a question to mind: With the recent buzz about the video iPod, should Apple develop a small footprint of OS X and Aqua for inclusion into some smaller gadgets and devices?
Move over Elvis; Linux is the King...baby.
Looks like their web designer has been hanging around Novell's web site too much.
This application isn't exactly novel, and not really "new technology" - the story is just pandering to Linux fanboys. Please, put the iconic evanelism aside, get over the my OS is better than yours tedium and concentrate on the usefulness and usability of the service that's delivered.
Companies such as Lapavalley have been successfully delivering portable multimedia guides for many years already. I've used them in Marwell Zoo where they'd used Palm Tungsten's to great effect, with kids, grannies, teachers and geeks all having an equally enriching experience.
"Node" may have a novel application that delivers knowledge in a new way, but fundamentally nothing is new, apart from using linux, and that doesn't matter to the overwhelming majority of device users.
boakes.org
Having used those handset audio guided tour things, I can see that this is certainly a step up.
What would be even better would be to have some standard system whereby anyone with a wireless enabled PDA type device can walk into some attraction/theme park, and fire up their own PDA through which the audio/video can be viewed over some standard URL. Those rental things are often damaged or otherwise not working a lot of the time anyway.
The next step (or perhaps the first step) could even be a system where any mobile phone can be used as a guided tour handset. A combination of a micro-cell and custom phone system (Asterisk?) could achieve this.
Sparks:Gadget:Beer Maker
I have thought about building a small system for Homes. It would be nice to advertise your house via a local website. As the car drives up, the customer can have info and a virtual tour of the place. In addition, they can save the buy info on their computer.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Now, I'm just waiting for the next generation device:
* The device you buy that hooks up - world wide - on which ever avialable network and determines where you are to give you the travel- or other relevant information.
* The device that reads ahead in time and knows where you're heading to give you the information before you get there
* The device that reads your mind and knows where you really want to be and gives you the information on how to get there, where to stay, and where to get a stiff drink when you arrive - not to mention, which excuse to use for your boss.
Then we're talking some intersting stuff.
Really, it shouldn't be that difficult to get the first part, hook up a laptop with a GPS and an internet connection and create a GPS based interface to wikitravel.org or some other travel guide, we have google maps and earth, this must be close coming up!
Erik
we may be hearing that phrase more often. And that is in-spite of MS's work to eradicate Linux from every OEM.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Please note the following: "This whole thing is wildly inaccurate. Rounding errors, ballot stuffers, dynamic IPs, firewalls. If you're using these numbers to do anything important, you're insane." Good sir, I'm afraid this nullifies your entire argument! -ArmadniGeneral (I fear the offtopic modding)
Mod parent up
...Linux could guide me though installing device drivers or a GCC cross-compiler!
It is true that the largest heritage and tourism interpretation company has just licensed this location-based media platform and its associated linux portable media device from a UK company called Node. It will enable them to do some pretty cool stuff with traditional tourist attractions. People will hire the linux based device at their entry point and then as they walk around and explore the attraction the device will search huge archives of rich media video and audio dependent on who a user is, where they are and what they are looking at. Their top sites in the US are places such as Alcatraz, MoMA in New York and Elvis Presley Graceland's property and the rumour is that Elvis's property may be one of the first to be converted to this new technology
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Raise your children as if you were teaching them to raise your grandchildren, because you are.
A small county in Denmark has already implemented this idea, aCon allows tourists to dial a phone number from their cell phones and via the phone recieve a detailed description af the attraction or site they are at. Not as "media rich" as this story's device this i think is more user friendly and less invasive in terms of privacy. Also it can be done via _any_ cellphone that works in Denmark, Europe.
Good or bad, It is in the eye of the beholder. Don't confuse luck with skill.
Disney has a great fun way to explore their theme parks in Florida. Pal Mickey is a little toy that vibrates and giggles as you walk past various hotspots dotted around the parks. You squeeze his tummy and he says something to keep kids interested in the likes of Epcots world showcase (a bit like a museum in places) or messages about queue lengths and show times. The interface is very simple and non intrusive, you can just ignore him if you are busy eating or something and he'll repeat his message up to 5 times if you squeeze him again within 20 seconds of him finishing his speech. He also has a variety of games and corny jokes to keep kids occupied whilst queuing. Very clever little device.
http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/palmickey.html
...this sounds interesting, as long as they "involve" the user to a larger extent than previous, similar efforts.
Perhaps each sector of could be presented in an icon-based GUI, allowing users to choose what (and when..) they want information about.
On a side note, this could also mean new employment opportunities for webdesigners and such...
...and an ex-colleague of mine works there. Every so often, he spends a day wandering around fields testing the location based stuff out.
They seem like a pretty bright bunch of folks. I've been meaning to go up there at some point and have a play with one of these gadgets, but I haven't found the time yet. Anyway, apparantly, it all Just Works.
You win again, gravity!
The audio tour for Bodyworlds 2 just had a handheld device with a numeric keypad, and each display had a two digit number. You punch in that number, it tells you what you're looking at. This should be comprehensible to anyone able to use a telephone. I believe there were also pause, seek, and repeat functions, but anyone should be able to repeat the whole loop without asking for help (just punch in the number again). Not only that, but the same text was printed on a paper sign within the exhibit, along with the number in large print. There weren't any accommodations that I can recall for the blind, but I'm not sure how much they would get out of an exhibit you can't touch. There were some items not behind glass, but I'm not sure anyone wants to wander around feeling up plastinated bodies.
Anyhow, there was really no forced movement through the exhibit, and in some places not even a sense of direction of flow. There were many looping paths you could take that eventually covered everything in a theme before moving onto the next major portion. The only restriction was that once you left the first half of the display (they were in separate halls) you couldn't return there. Other than that, you were free to wander around within the current hall. The staff seemed much more preoccupied with keeping fingerprints (and kid noseprints) off the glass than with keeping any turnover rate. Everyone else crowded around the muscular and skeletal exhibits, but I was more interested in the neural exhibit in the opposite corner.
Sometimes dead simple really is better. Don't overthink the problem.
Mal-2
How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
There are already so called "soundseeing" audio guide tours which can be downloaded to your favorite mp3 player. Museums, City tours.
The color screen iPod can now show album art from podcasts. So I could very well imagine an audio tour which at every site shows you a picture of what is being described and then showing you an arrow or mini map of which direction to take next.
I've tried to get Zurich tourism board interested in creating such free audio tours, but no response yet. Maybe all those tour guides do not want to lose their jobs?
I can imagine a service where the local tourist information center allows you to download (or rents) out an iPod with color screen to visitors complete with various audio-picture guides.
So why create another proprietary HW-SW package to do the same thing already available?
Rubies and Pearls are not what you think.
When I walk around a stately home I don't fancy wearing headphones, I don't want to have to fiddle with buttons, and I am quite capable of looking around me and reading the catalogue or notes in the room. Staring at a small LCD screen when I am in 'the great room' seems like going to a brewery and drinking from a can!
/. geeks (only the dishonest ones, of course!).
I also wonder what effect all the additional multimedia presentations will have on throughput - if many people start to linger to watch the material then it may cause a build up of people in certain areas.
I can also see people bumping into each other as they focus on the screens rather than where they are going!
Hire cost will also be a factor - what if a family is touring and mum, dad and the kids all want a look-see - are we sharing headphones? Will all the tugging and pulling give the headphones a short life - fair enough they only cost around 30p a set trade price (for generic stereo headphones), but it soon adds up.
I'm sure this gadget will be useful for people with visual or audio impairment but the whole business of charging, cleaning, maintenance etc. for a fraction of the overall visitor base seems excessive for the ROI. Oh, and how many are going to get nicked by
I'll take the random-access guide book with beautiful pictures and descriptive text that I can take home and look at again and again at my own pace.
AT&ROFLMAO
I have to say the mobile industry has been crying out for this kind of application. 3 minute pop videos and 30 sec football clips are not really what people want on their mobile device. However, media that is tailored to who they are and where they are is far more attractive. Imagine being able to chop the Blair Witch video up into segments and play it back at locations in a really scary wood - the would be fantastic. T
Appearing on display: Prison Mess Hall
... "
Voice on device: "This is the Prison Mess Hall, where gansters such as Al Capone and the Birdman ate there meals. The prisoners were served nutritious meals
*popup*
"Speaking of nutritious meals, did you know that McDonald's on Market Street in San Francisco has its Fruit and Walnut Salad on sale for 99 cents? Get your FRUIT BUZZ after you escape from Alcatraz!"
My blog
I can't wait until someone paints the words "DON'T PANIC" on the outside of the case.
Just because the comment isn't the usual "Windows/Linux/Mac Sucks" gibberish?
Its a legitimite concern.
at Boston's MOFA, I used a self-guided tour thingy that seemed to be based on a cd player.
The beauty of it was that I could wait until I was actually able to see a particular painting up close (in the very crowded gallery) before playing the audio clip associated with that painting.
So I think you have to leave it up to the user when to play the content rather than just triggering it based on location.
Isnt "local tourist" an oxymoron?
...in Amsterdam
http://www.i-spatialtech.com/ipointer.html
Carlsbad Caverns has (used to have?) a system of repeating audio at various points, transmitted by very low power FM (or is it AM?). You rent and carry a small receiver with you, and listen to the audio at various places along the tour. The transmitters are clearly marked, so all you have to do is stand next to one, and you get some info. Each audio loop is fairly short, so if you miss something, just wait for it to repeat.
It works great, is cheap and done entirely with simple analog equipment, and best of all, doesn't require a friggin' robot to work.
Free Hans!
as a consumer is a product that will track my location via GPS, and not only tell me where I am on a map, and where I need to go.... is show me where the damn bathrooms are! :)
As a master's student of museum studies and an intern who is working for a company that produces similiar devices, I have to agree with most posts: the tech isn't really new, nor is the idea, and human guides are desirable in many situations. However a digital guide provides many more possibilities of user accessibility and interpretation: information can be distributed in many languages, text, audio, video etc, this is imporatant for persons with disabilities. The content can be tailored to provide alternate interpreations, this is especially important for ethnographic exhibitions where the point of view of the institution often differs from that of the source community.
For the tech, the company I work with produces guides that are gps enabled, others that allow you to use your own device, and more that take you through an interactive game which is part tour part treasure hunt and part RPG. We are currently building a guide which is user updateable wiki style so that a visitor can post their own interpretations/images/soundbytes etc for others to see/hear, again not a new idea, but any way.
That said the technology is currently lagging and lugging a gameboy or even a palm around is a problem. More so the screens are too small and touch screens can be a problem for persons with low vision or arthritis. In addition digital guides increase user interaction with the exhibitions and allow them to move at their own pace; they can decrease visitor interactions with each other, as each visitor is a self-contained unit rather than a group of interacting individuals.
As always it is a give and take situation. Additionally museums must consider cost, one full time human guide costs as much per year to maintain (salary, benefits, etc) as it does to custom produce a small "fleet" of digital guides. The finance situation of the cultural sector is dismal and we will be, and are, seeing fewer and fewer human guides. Hopefully more museums will be making use of such technologies to maintain visitor comprehension, or they willl cease to be relevant.
..in case a tourist who doesn't speak the local language wanted to ask locals for directions. A Hungarian tourist with such a device in their hands comes along and asks you to fondle their bum, and you can give them directions to the station, which the device will translate into Hungarian for them,
I'm not repeating myself
I'm an X window user; I'm an ex-Windows user