Page 250 - AC/E's Digital Culture Annual Report 2015

AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report 2015250An antecedent to beacons in our country canbe found in the 2012 exhibition Coordenadasna Arte Galega Contemporánea (Coordinates of contemporary Galician art) held at the Centro Social de NovaCaixa Galicia. The technology company Wireless Galicia started up the project for this exhibition and is a pioneer in this type of technology in the Galicia region.This exhibition offered visitors with smartphones the possibility of accessing complementary information in three different ways: by decoding the QR code embedded in the poster; with NFC technology, by holding their mobile over the label to redirect them to the website containing the information; or by using Ibeaken technology whereby they could type the code supplied by the poster into the browser of their mobile to access a whole catalogue of content associated with the work.85The National Science Centre in New Delhi made the news in October 2014 when it launched an app using beacons for visually impaired people. The application, called Roshni (meaning light in Hindi), was created by the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).The application is easy to use. When visitors arrive at the museum, they use it to choose their preferred route. It provides content throughan audio description of each work, similar to today’s audio guides but also including specific indications on each space to orient them inside the room and help them move freely: how many steps away a work is, where the lift is, what direc- tion to turn, etc. The beacons located around the museum’s rooms detect visitors and accordingly help them reach their chosen destination.The results are very encouraging, as visually impaired people are visiting the museum much more autonomously and independently.The Neon Muzeum in Warsaw has also started to use beacons. The application offers audio tours with explanations by the museum’s profes- sionals: location of specific works with interac- tive maps, archive images, customisation of the application with a range of colours characteristic of noble gases and full practical information on opening hours, tickets, etc. This application was developed by Human Tech Art.In June 2014, the Philips Museum in Eindhoven brought out an amusing and educational gameto be played by family groups using beacons. Mission Eureka offers an interactive tour of the museum in groups of four people at most from age eight and upwards. With Mission Eureka users can discover how LEDs and X-rays work, solve puzzles and enjoy a great many activities that enrich the visit, making it more enjoyable for the whole family. The museum supplies visitors with the tablets needed to play this game.86This type of technology is also used to raise awareness of the more complex realities of our world. The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and Critical Mass opened an exhibition that year at the New Museum in New York, mak- ing the Sweeper application available to visitors.87This app based on the use of iBeacons provides an immersive experience that allows visitors to experience the fear and disastrous consequences of these arms in hundreds of countries today through smartphones and audios and visual content reflecting the horror of mines.Focus 2015. Museums and New Technologies