Audio tour
Encyclopedia
An audio tour or audio guide provides a recorded spoken commentary, normally through a handheld device
, to a visitor attraction such as a museum
. They are also available for self-guided tour
s of outdoor locations, or as a part of an organised tour. It provides background, context, and information on the things being viewed. Audio guides are often in multilingual versions and can be made available in different ways. Some of the more elaborate tours available include original music and interviews, offering an experience more comparable to an audio documentary than to a traditional guided tour. Traditionally rented on the spot, more recently downloaded from the Internet
or available via the mobile phone network. Some audio guides are free or included in the entrance fee, others have to be purchased separately.
, a digital pen
and displays with LED
s or LCD screens.
These smart guides may be operated to supply content in different languages and accents, with different voice alternatives like (Man/Woman/Child/Native Speaker/TV Speaker/etc.), with text, with age group
specific content. They can be operated in several ways:
These electronic guides can provide the museum management with useful statistics and reports, which may include tour statistics, visitor statistics, opinions, and other surveys.
Each venue is assigned a phone number with appropriate stop numbers, displayed next the exhibit. Once a visitor has dialed in, they will be prompted and can enter the corresponding stop number of the exhibit they’re viewing, to hear the recorded content. These tours also enable the visitors to: fast forward, rewind, pause, as well as leave a feedback
message for each exhibit or the whole tour; simply by pressing a number. In addition to audio content, some providers are also able to stream video, and text message recent visitors with updates . This is the old-style approach, not used widely.
Wikipedia
allowed the emergence of a new generation of audio tours new generation of audio tours] and location-based service
(LBS) based audio tours using the capabilities of smartphone
s like the iPhone
. These audio tours rely on Wikipedia to benefit from a huge source of information (several hundreds thousands of locations around the world). The Wikipedia articles are read thanks to speech synthesis
. In this manner, thousands hours of vocal explanations are available. One of such systems, based on patented technologies, were presented during theWikimédia Conference 2010 in Paris
at the National Assembly of France. Its predecessor was presented at World Travel Market
in London in 2009.
Other examples of LBS audio tours that use the capabilities of smartphones include WalkExplorer or Guide@Hand
or GPS) is an audio tour or a multimedia tour that provides pre-recorded spoken commentary, normally through a handheld device
, for mobile applications such as walking tours, boats, buses, trolleys and trains. GPS tours can either be GPS guided or self-directed tours that provide visitors with location relevant content about points of interest along a route or within a destination or region. GPS tours are predominately for outdoor applications, but some audio guides offer the flexibility to manually continue tours indoors.
Using satellite technology (GPS), audio and/or multimedia content is triggered based on a user's location, providing location relevant information to visitors depending on who they are, where they are, and what they are viewing.
A GPS audio tour provides "background, context, and information on the works being viewed". The Economist magazine has stated that "aiming such services at tourists makes sense — since people are more likely to want information when in an unfamiliar place."
GPS Tours are often unilingual, but advances in technology have made GPS tours for mobile applications available in multiple languages simultaneously. GPS tours can be created by using a combination of software and hardware and can be downloaded from the Internet for mobile phones, often in MP3
format and are available from organizations specializing in GPS tour development. Some GPS tours are free, included in the ticket fee, others have to be purchased separately.
Handheld device
A mobile device is a small, hand-held computing device, typically having a display screen with touch input and/or a miniature keyboard and less than . Early pocket sized ones were joined in the late 2000s by larger but otherwise similar tablet computers...
, to a visitor attraction such as a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
. They are also available for self-guided tour
Self-guided tour
A self-guided tour is a self-governing tour where one navigates a route oneself as opposed to an escorted tour where a tour guide directs the route, times, information, and places toured...
s of outdoor locations, or as a part of an organised tour. It provides background, context, and information on the things being viewed. Audio guides are often in multilingual versions and can be made available in different ways. Some of the more elaborate tours available include original music and interviews, offering an experience more comparable to an audio documentary than to a traditional guided tour. Traditionally rented on the spot, more recently downloaded from the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
or available via the mobile phone network. Some audio guides are free or included in the entrance fee, others have to be purchased separately.
Electronic multimedia guides
A multimedia electronic guide is a device specially designed to provide audio, visual or textual content to museum visitors with or without user interaction. It may also provide alternative content corresponding to different personal preferences. It may include accessories such as headphonesHeadphones
Headphones are a pair of small loudspeakers, or less commonly a single speaker, held close to a user's ears and connected to a signal source such as an audio amplifier, radio, CD player or portable Media Player. They are also known as stereophones, headsets or, colloquially, cans. The in-ear...
, a digital pen
Digital pen
A digital pen is an input device which captures the handwriting or brush strokes of a user, converts handwritten analog information created using "pen and paper" into digital data, enabling the data to be utilized in various applications. For example, the writing data can be digitized and uploaded...
and displays with LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
s or LCD screens.
These smart guides may be operated to supply content in different languages and accents, with different voice alternatives like (Man/Woman/Child/Native Speaker/TV Speaker/etc.), with text, with age group
Demographic profile
A demographic or demographic profile is a term used in marketing and broadcasting, to describe a demographic grouping or a market segment...
specific content. They can be operated in several ways:
- Touch/push buttoned systems will be operated by the visitor. Visitor will enter the code assigned to the object to the electronic museum guide and the related content is provided.
- Location aware systems will semi automatically operate. They sense the location by several alternative technologies and provide the related content. If the sensing area is not narrow enough to detect every different object then the visitor will enter or select the content he or she wants. Location aware systems provides better quality tours to disabled people.
- Line of SightLine-of-sight propagationLine-of-sight propagation refers to electro-magnetic radiation or acoustic wave propagation. Electromagnetic transmission includes light emissions traveling in a straight line...
Aware Systems will automatically operate. They sense the location and the target object and provides the related content. These systems may include an artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
that will measure the visitor aims and interest areas and may provide shallower or deeper information for the object. These systems may need special technologies for target detection.
These electronic guides can provide the museum management with useful statistics and reports, which may include tour statistics, visitor statistics, opinions, and other surveys.
Cell phone tours
A cell phone tour is an audio tour where pre-recorded or stream audio interpretation for a heritage site or a cultural exhibit is provided via a cell phone. Cell phone audio tours have the advantage that most visitors already have the equipment needed to take the audio tour, being their cell phones.Each venue is assigned a phone number with appropriate stop numbers, displayed next the exhibit. Once a visitor has dialed in, they will be prompted and can enter the corresponding stop number of the exhibit they’re viewing, to hear the recorded content. These tours also enable the visitors to: fast forward, rewind, pause, as well as leave a feedback
Feedback
Feedback describes the situation when output from an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or occurrences of the same Feedback describes the situation when output from (or information about the result of) an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or...
message for each exhibit or the whole tour; simply by pressing a number. In addition to audio content, some providers are also able to stream video, and text message recent visitors with updates . This is the old-style approach, not used widely.
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
allowed the emergence of a new generation of audio tours new generation of audio tours] and location-based service
Location-based service
A Location-Based Service is an information or entertainment service, accessible with mobile devices through the mobile network and utilizing the ability to make use of the geographical position of the mobile device....
(LBS) based audio tours using the capabilities of smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
s like the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
. These audio tours rely on Wikipedia to benefit from a huge source of information (several hundreds thousands of locations around the world). The Wikipedia articles are read thanks to speech synthesis
Speech synthesis
Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware...
. In this manner, thousands hours of vocal explanations are available. One of such systems, based on patented technologies, were presented during theWikimédia Conference 2010 in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at the National Assembly of France. Its predecessor was presented at World Travel Market
World Travel Market
World Travel Market is a UK event aimed at the global travel industry. Almost 46,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and representatives of the international media, converge on ExCeL London each year in November to attend WTM. This year World Travel Market is scheduled...
in London in 2009.
Other examples of LBS audio tours that use the capabilities of smartphones include WalkExplorer or Guide@Hand
GPS tours
A GPS tour (using Global Positioning SystemGlobal Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
or GPS) is an audio tour or a multimedia tour that provides pre-recorded spoken commentary, normally through a handheld device
Handheld device
A mobile device is a small, hand-held computing device, typically having a display screen with touch input and/or a miniature keyboard and less than . Early pocket sized ones were joined in the late 2000s by larger but otherwise similar tablet computers...
, for mobile applications such as walking tours, boats, buses, trolleys and trains. GPS tours can either be GPS guided or self-directed tours that provide visitors with location relevant content about points of interest along a route or within a destination or region. GPS tours are predominately for outdoor applications, but some audio guides offer the flexibility to manually continue tours indoors.
Using satellite technology (GPS), audio and/or multimedia content is triggered based on a user's location, providing location relevant information to visitors depending on who they are, where they are, and what they are viewing.
A GPS audio tour provides "background, context, and information on the works being viewed". The Economist magazine has stated that "aiming such services at tourists makes sense — since people are more likely to want information when in an unfamiliar place."
GPS Tours are often unilingual, but advances in technology have made GPS tours for mobile applications available in multiple languages simultaneously. GPS tours can be created by using a combination of software and hardware and can be downloaded from the Internet for mobile phones, often in MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format and are available from organizations specializing in GPS tour development. Some GPS tours are free, included in the ticket fee, others have to be purchased separately.
Further reading
- Fisher, Jennifer (2004), "Speeches of Display: Museum Audioguides by Artists". In Drobnick, Jim, Aural Cultures. ISBN 0-920397-80-8.
- Four steps in the history of museum technologies and visitors' digital participation.