The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
introduced a new app today that leapfrogs ahead of the standard museum audio
tour.
Using this free app, developed by KS Technologies,
visitors with an iOS mobile device can enjoy video and
multi-media presentations about art in the galleries without having to punch in
location numbers.
That’s because the app listens
for iBeacon devices installed throughout the museum, developed by KS
Technologies and manufactured in Colorado Springs. KST’s beacon devices are powered by ultra
low-power wireless hardware from Nordic Semiconductor.
The new iBeacon technology used
in the Fine Arts Center App, currently free through Apple’s App Store, is being
used in only a handful of arts institutions worldwide.
“We’re tremendously excited about
how the technology enhances the visitor’s experience,” says FAC President and
CEO David Dahlin. “Art institutions like ours are finding that it’s not enough
to hang art on the walls. In order to stay relevant, we need to make each visit
a memorable experience. People today desire to interact and to have depth of
context. This new app is amazing and will really change the way that people
experience an exhibition and interact with the art.”
The new app also has hidden
advantages internally. By tracking foot
traffic patterns in the museum, the app can be used like a heat map online,
showing how visitors are actually using the institution, where they’re going
and where they’re not going.
“Potentially, this has
implications for how we install future shows and even which pieces we keep on
display and which go to our archives,” says Blake Milteer, the FAC’s museum
director and chief curator.
For KS Technologies, the app
represents a triumph of collaboration and technology.
“We’re so proud to partner with
the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center in creating this new app and installing
our beacons here,” said Bob Kressin, President of KS Technologies. “We see
beacons as a disruptive technology, having many practical applications such as
navigating indoor spaces, tracking assets and creating experiences like we have
here at the FAC.”
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