Future Plans for the St Georges App
Mon, 20 Jan 2014
We launched the St Georges App just over a month ago and are now up to around 400 downloads across iPhone and Android. Word of mouth feedback has been great with people commenting on both the ease of use of the app and the excellent content, in particular the Changing Industries in Leicester's Cultural Quarter guide.
However, we see this as just the starting point. The app has been designed to allow new guides to be easily added via the Empedia website. The web-based tools let a non-technical person upload and maintain multimedia content that can be fed to the app at the push of the button.
The next batch of new content is due to be delivered via the DigiCROP project with Leicester University. This should see soundscapes and spoken word guides being created that further explore the history of the Culture Quarter. Some of this work will be quite innovative, with new features being added to the app that will allow multiple layers of sound to be played as you explore the area.
We're also looking at ways of using different types of computer-readable 'tags' within the app. It already supports the use of QR Codes to trigger the playback of content, but work to integrate wireless iBeacons and RFID tags is underway. This will allow multimedia materials to play automatically when you, for example, enter buildings or pass indoor points of interest.
As we make use of more of these technologies, the St Georges App will be able to deliver increasingly personalised content to you as you walk around the Cultural Quarter. We hope that it will provide a fascinating example of how new technologies can enhance a person's understanding of the space they are in - both in terms of its past and its present.
We are also looking to work with people who have ideas of their own and would like to use the platform to realise them. If you haven't done so already then download the app and have a play. If you have ideas for new content you would like to see then please get in touch.
