Interpreting our heritage with apps and smartphones

Interpreting our heritage with apps and smartphones www.manelmiro.com @ManelMiro
Heritage Interpretation in the Digital Era. Finding meeting points with technology 15TH AIP CONFERENCE BARCELONA
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15TH AIP CONFERENCE BARCELONA
Museu d´Història de Catalunya
10th - 13th March 2016
INTERPRETING HERITAGE IN THE DIGITAL ERA
Finding meeting points with technology
Interpreting our
heritage with apps
and smartphones
Manel Miró
1954 Studebaker Commander Regal Conestoga Station Wagon

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“There will never be a device of telecommunication as satisfactory as
the direct contact with a person” (Freeman Tilden)
TILDEN WROTE:
" There will never be a device of telecommunication
as satisfactory as the direct contact not merely with
the voice, but with the hand, the eye, the casual and
meaningful ad lib, and with that something which
flows out of the very constitution of the individual in
his physical self “
Certainly, good interpretation at first hand is one of the
best heritage experiences one can have, but...
Arturo Ruiz and Manuel Molinos in Puente Tablas (Jaén).

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Will there really never be a device of telecommunication as
satisfactory as the direct contact with a person?
ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD
…but it is also true that poor interpretation at first
hand by a person is one of the most uncomfortable
experiences one can have.
Too often, in the real world good personal
interpretation is an unattainable ideal that can be
partly compensated for with good use of technology.

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In search of the philosopher’s stone, interpretation can be
enriched by technology
THE TECHNOLOGICAL THREAD
As interpretation is closely linked to communication
and is an art that combines many arts, it was to be
expected that advances in the world of
telecommunications would be reflected in that of
interpretation.
Communicating over long distances, communicating to
thousands of people at once in distant places. In our
highly developed world we have perhaps lost the
memory of the great revolution caused by the
invention of radio, the greatest turning point in the
media since the invention of printing. Alongside the
radio revolution another one took place involving the
development of sound recording technology. Both
these ingredients together made possible the
development of the first experiments in portable
interpretation.
Frances Densmore during a recording of a Blackfoot chief on a phonograph
cylinder for the Bureau of American Ethnology (1916)

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FIRST STEPS
In 1952, the same year as Tilden received the
commission that would lead to the classic “Interpreting
our heritage”, the Dutch multinational Phillips
developed a revolutionary prototype audio guide for
a temporary exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in
Amsterdam. The technology used was a closed-circuit
shortwave radio system.
The audio output from an analogue tape player served
as a broadcasting device and transmission was via a
loop aerial.
The audio reached visitors through a portable radio
receiver with earphones when they entered the range
of the radio signal. This meant visitors could not
choose their routes but when they entered a room
they received whatever the room transmitter was
sending at that moment.
Mobility as an aim, mobile electronic devices as instruments
of interpretation
Visitors to the exhibition
at the Stedelijk Museum,
where an audio guide was
used for the first time
The first audio guides,
created by PHILLIPS

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THE 80s - THE WALKMAN CULTURAL
REVOLUTION
The Philips prototype was not developed further, but
in 1979 a device came along to revolutionise the way
people listened to music: the Sony Walkman made
it possible to listen to music while strolling in the
street, jogging or sitting on the bus, metro or train.
The Walkman broke the barrier to listening to music
individually in public.
The possibilities of the device as an interpretation
tool were considered by the US National Park
Service.
In 1987 the NPS commissioned the stage actor and
director Chris Hardman to create a tour to be
followed with a Walkman for Alcatraz prison, which
had recently become a site open to visitors.
of interpretation

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WALKMANOLOGY 80s
This guide was made entirely using interviews with
guards and prisoners who had worked or served
time at Alcatraz. No other narrators’ or actors’
voices were added, making it a convincing
experience due to the authentic voices telling their
stories in their own words. The interesting thing
about this audio guide is that it is a whole
interpretative experience that cannot be provided
by any human guide.
This placed in question Tilden’s idea that
telecommunications devices would never be as
effective as guides. In reality it opened up a world of
new interpretative possibilities that a guided tour
could never offer.
of interpretation
Alcatraz visitors

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THE 90s - THE GOLDEN AGE OF AUDIO
GUIDES
The appearance of digital audio devices and sound
file compression systems in the late 80s made
possible a substantial improvement in portable
audio devices, especially as regards selecting audio
tracks and their sound quality.
As interpretation tools, audio guides generally
reproduce the classic guided tour model with a
voiceover that explains, often in a pedagogical way,
different objects or parts of a museum of heritage
site.
Audio guides became the first profitable business
directly linked to the basic services provided by a
museum.
of interpretation

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THE 21ST CENTURY AND THE ARRIVAL OF
GPS
The early years of the 21st century saw the
appearance of portable multimedia devices that,
as well as audio, featured screens for graphics
and video, wireless Internet connectivity and
GPS guidance.
For the first time there was a device able to
perform all the tasks involved in a guided tour or
discovery trail.
The capacity for interaction of portable
communication devices increased exponentially
and the possibilities for interpretative
experiences multiplied
of interpretation

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THE SMARTPHONE ERA
With the arrival in 2007 of the Apple iPhone and in
2010 of the Google Nexus One the use of
smartphones became widespread and with it that of
a product closely linked to them, the app.
While the Internet enabled us to access all the
knowledge in the world from home or at work,
smartphones enabled us to access the world from
anywhere, providing the places have a signal and the
roaming costs are not prohibitive.
Smartphones made it possible to pack all the
technical advances of recent decades in the field of
telecommunications into a single device, and at the
same time their immense popularity allowed the
development of the world of apps.
of interpretation

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Educational activity with smartphones, Rijksmuseum
What apps and smartphones have
brought to the art of interpretation

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What apps and smartphones have brought to the art of
interpretation
THE PROFESSIONALS’ OPINION
Between 2009 and 2013 a research group called
Museums & Mobile (www.museums-mobile.org)
conducted an annual survey on the use of mobile
technology at their institutions.
In the 2013 survey, the last one, a consolidation was
observed of the trend to run mobile projects for
three main reasons:
 To offer additional interpretative content.
 To promote dialogue between institution and
visitor.
 To experiment with way of building loyalty, i.e.
explore the potential of social networks.
The lack of interest in the language issue is
surprising, while the potential for people with
special needs was becoming clear.

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THEY HAVE OPENED UP ACCESS TO
CONTENT CREATION
Apps are part of a completely standardised system
for creating and distributing content that consists of
a programming package and online “stores” open 24
hours a day, 365 days a year.
Producing an app is infinitely less costly than
publishing a book, creating a marked route or setting
up a visitor centre.
To a certain extent heritage institutions have lost
their monopoly on content creation, though in
general their brands continue to come first when
users come to choose content.
interpretation

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THEY HAVE MADE IT EASIER TO PUBLISH
CONTENT
As software (content) has become divorced from
hardware (audio guide device), the number of
professionals dedicated to creating audio guides has
increased.
The spread of smartphones means it is no longer
necessary to have specific devices to deliver content
in museums.
The simplification apps have brought to the process
of creating, distributing and using audio guides
means that places that would never have been able
to offer audio guides can now do so, and places that
did have them have been able to diversify their
service.
interpretation
App del Museum of Modern Art

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THEY HAVE MADE IT EASIER TO PUBLISH
CONTENT
As software (content) has become divorced from
hardware (audio guide device), the number of
professionals dedicated to creating audio guides has
increased.
The spread of smartphones means it is no longer
necessary to have specific devices to deliver content
in museums.
The simplification apps have brought to the process
of creating, distributing and using audio guides
means that places that would never have been able
to offer audio guides can now do so, and places that
did have them have been able to diversify their
service.
interpretation
Apps about the Park Güell

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THEY HAVE ENRICHED THE CREATION OF
DISCOVERY TRAILS
A classic interpretative experience, the discovery
trail, was one of the areas in which the usefulness of
mobile technology and geolocation was first
exploited.
In our first experiments we were obsessed with
giving directions so that users wouldn’t get lost and
we were worried about the poor visibility of screens.
Time has given rise to products as sophisticated as
this tour of Charles Dickens’s London.
interpretation
“Dark London”, Museum of London app featuring texts by Dickens

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THEY HAVE MADE POSSIBLE THE USE OF “IN
SITU” MULTIMEDIA CONTENT
Another of the novel features provided by
smartphone apps in the world of heritage
interpretation is the possibility of playing multimedia
content anywhere.
For example, showing different phases in an
archaeological site, showing 3D reconstructions of
vanished buildings, viewing old photographs in the
exact place where they were taken or using
augmented reality to superimpose layers of virtual
information over the real image.
interpretation
Multimedia guide to the Rijks Museum

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SITU” MULTIMEDIA CONTENT:
content anywhere.
interpretation
“Iesso”, Parc Arqueològic de Guissona app

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content anywhere.
interpretation
“Barcino 3D”, Barcelona City Council Archaeology Service app

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content anywhere.
interpretation
“Street Museum”, Museum of London app

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THEY HAVE FOSTERED THE DEVELOPMENT
OF GAMIFICATION:
One of the main uses of mobile devices is as a
games platform. This has not gone unnoticed by
heritage interpreters, who have used their
imagination to create some innovative experiences.
The interactivity inherent in mobile electronic
devices has encouraged the creation of
interpretative experiences in which the game
component predominates.
As tools for learning and to awaken curiosity these
gamification experiences are generally highly
effective and stimulating.
interpretation
With this app the MET set out to attract a teenage audience

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OF GAMIFICATION:
interpretation
Gamification not only serves for children’s apps, as shown by this
app developed by the MET to supplement their temporary
exhibition “Faking it”

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OF GAMIFICATION:
interpretation
A MoMA app aimed at children to experiment with artistic
creativity.

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THEY HAVE POPULARISED THE USE OF
AUGMENTED REALITY AND VIRTUAL
REALITY:
The combination of GPS with the development of
increasingly powerful graphics engines, the gradual
increase in the speed of data exchange and the rapid
evolution of three-dimensional data capture (in
particular 3D scanning techniques and digital
photometry) have enabled smartphones to provide
augmented reality experiences that just ten years
ago required equipment that was inconvenient to
carry, costly and highly complex.
Olympia. Experiments in augmented reality.
interpretation

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THEY HAVE POPULARISED THE USE OF
AUGMENTED REALITY AND VIRTUAL
REALITY:
We can now stroll through the ruins of the abbey of
Cluny and see the intact building reappear before
our eyes, or walk round London and discover scenes
from everyday life in Roman times thanks to the
Museum of London app “Londinium”.
Reconstruction in augmented reality of the abbey of Cluny.
interpretation

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THEY HAVE MADE POSSIBLE THE USE OF
IMAGE RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY IN
EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES
Image recognition technology is beginning to be
used in museums to experiment with artistic forms
or as a tool to activate content in a multimedia
guide.
Cleveland Art Museum
interpretation

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THEY HAVE ADDED TO THE RESOURCES OF
LEADERS OF GUIDED TOURS.
Smartphones and in particular tablets are very useful
tools for an interpretative guide because they make
it possible to conveniently carry large amounts of
documentation and display it at high quality: videos
with testimony by people who have died, old
photographs that illustrate vanished heritage, plans,
maps, sound files and more. The possibilities are
endless.
interpretation

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THEY HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO SOCIALISE
EXPERIENCES THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKS
The appearance of heritage institutions on social
networks is one of the most innovative aspects
made possible and popularised by apps and
smartphones.
Ten years ago it was very hard to join a guided your
of the Prado led by one of its curators or
researchers. Today the Prado has 250 tours posted
on the Storify portal, documenting visit experiences
commented on via Twitter.
This interaction between heritage institutions and
their audiences reflects both a change in attitude
towards the public and the existence of the
technology to allow it.
Storify about the guided tours on Twitter of the Prado museum
interpretation

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HTHEY HAVE HELPED TO MAKE MUSEUMS
MORE ACCESSIBLE
Smartphones have programming systems to allow
people with visual difficulties to handle the mobile
devices easily (Voice Over in iOS and TalkBack in
Android). This, together with the development of
visual description techniques (also known as audio
description), has made it easier to provide specific
content for people with impaired vision
interpretation

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THEY HAVE HELPED TO MAKE MUSEUMS
MORE ACCESSIBLE
Smartphones have programming systems to allow
people with visual difficulties to handle the mobile
devices easily (Voice Over in iOS and TalkBack in
Android). This, together with the development of
visual description techniques (also known as audio
description), has made it easier to provide specific
content for people with impaired vision
Multimedia guide to the Museum of
World Cultures in Barcelona
interpretation

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1946: The New York subway, by Stanley Kubrick
The effect of apps and
smartphones on Tilden’s six
principles

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The effect of apps and smartphones on Tilden’s six
principles
ANY INTERPRETATION NOT LINKED TO THE
VISITOR’S EXPERIENCE WILL BE STERILE
The flexible content smartphones allow makes them
especially effective in situations where a discourse at
different levels is needed to meet the needs of
different users.
For example, for a museum house or a historic home
in which tours are in small groups of people of
different origins and different ages, an app can be
designed with content suited to these different
origins and ages.
In this way a range of interpretative products can be
combined in a single device.

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principles
INFORMATION IS NOT INTERPRETATION,
INTERPRETATION IS REVELATION BASED ON
INFORMATION.
Mobile devices and apps are particularly useful to
improve interpretation in institutions or heritage
sites (especially art galleries or archaeological
museums) that propose a classic
exposition/presentation model in whereby
information is provided in text form but there is no
interpretation.
App from the “Book of the Dead” exhibition at the British Museum

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principles
INTERPRETATION IS AN ART THAT
COMBINES MANY OTHER ARTS.
The multimedia nature of smartphones is
particularly effective for providing interpretative
experiences that combine different media: literary
texts, photographs, music, works of art, voiceovers,
etc.
“Taüll 1123” experience, video mapping projection

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principles
INTERPRETATION IS AN ART THAT
COMBINES MANY OTHER ARTS.
The multimedia nature of smartphones is
particularly effective for providing
interpretative experiences that combine
different media: literary texts, photographs,
music, works of art, voiceovers, etc.
“Bosch VR” app, a virtual reality tour of Bosch’s landscapes

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principles
THE CHIEF AIM OF INTERPRETATION IS NOT
INSTRUCTION, BUT PROVOCATION.
Of Tilden’s principles, this may be the most
significant. Above and beyond informing or teaching,
the primary mission of heritage centres with their
visitors is to be able to provoke their curiosity and
passion for knowledge, the first step in training
responsible, critical citizens.
Apps have proved especially effective in
archaeological interpretation, like this app from
Cástulo, which researchers use to share with visitors
their hypotheses about the remains dug up.
“Cástulo Virtual” app

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principles
INTERPRETATION MUST ADDRESS ITSELF TO
THE WHOLE MAN RATHER THAN ANY
PHASE.
I have always found it hard to understand what is
behind this principle because interpretation is
generally most effective when it works from specific
examples to reach general concepts.
I would like to think that Tilden means that
interpretation should avoid sectarianism and treat
heritage from a holistic point of view.
If we apply this principle to the regional dimension
of heritage we find this interesting example of an
app devoted to explaining the Germanic “Limes” in
the Roman Empire.

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principles
INTERPRETATION ADDRESSED TO CHILDREN
SHOULD FOLLOW A FUNDAMENTALLY
DIFFERENT APPROACH.
Apps, smartphones, touch screens or an Internet
connection form part of the everyday world of children
and this means that any interpretation using these media
will be welcomed by them.
Audiovisual language increasingly bears more weight
than written language with the younger generations, who
are more accustomed to using multimedia resources.
“It’s an audio guide dear, not a remote control." New Yorker Cartoon
by David Sipress, courtesy of Santos S. Mateos

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principles
INTERPRETATION ADDRESSED TO CHILDREN
SHOULD FOLLOW A FUNDAMENTALLY
DIFFERENT APPROACH.
Apps, smartphones, touch screens or an Internet
connection form part of the everyday world of children
and this means that any interpretation using these media
will be welcomed by them.
Audiovisual language increasingly bears more weight
than written language with the younger generations, who
are more accustomed to using multimedia resources.
“Exploring Cave Painting” app for the Cufín cave (Cantabria)

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By way of a conclusion: the human factor
continues to be the cornerstone
Toronto, 1919. Men reading job offers.

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By way of a conclusion: the human factor continues to be
the cornerstone
THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING
INTERPRETATION - WHY? WHO FOR?
Of course the development of technology in the 21st
century enables us to offer experiences that were
unimaginable in the 1950s, but it is also true that for
the technology to work for heritage there must be
people able to imagine and make sense of these
experiences, and this is only possible with more,
improved training in interpretation and also,
naturally, if there are institutions willing to pay for
this interpretation.
For the moment, technology does not act alone but
follows the approach of those who plan it, which is
why interpretation will be effective to the extent
that it is designed using both head and heart.

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the cornerstone
THE IMPORTANCE OF HERITAGE
INSTITUTIONS TAKING INTERPRETATION ON
BOARD
The concept of interpretation has not really
penetrated Spain. On the other hand,
“interpretation centres” have sprung up like
mushrooms. At many of these centres, the
interpretation is only in the name, because they are
generally places, in the best of cases, with didactic
aims.
We currently confuse interpretation with didactic
narration and this has made “interpretative spaces”
into didactic spaces, as if they were an extension of
school classrooms. I believe this detracts from the
principal role of heritage spaces, which is to teach or
help or make it easier for visitors to enjoy heritage.
Poster at the Tito Bustillo cave (Ribadesella). Late 90s.

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the cornerstone
THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING IN
INTERPRETATION.
Despite various initiatives, many of them of high
quality, training in interpretation remains inadequate
in Spain, and above all it is a training that comes
from conventional academic circuits.
If master’s degrees in heritage subjects deal with it
at all, at most they devote a module to
interpretation or, in the majority of cases, a few
hours.
This is surprising because heritage interpretation, as
well as being a communication tool, is also the
discipline that forms the basis for the exploitation
(activation) of heritage.
Ignorance of this discipline leads to the proposal of
projects that are simply wrong in terms of visitor
experience.

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the cornerstone
INTERPRETATION IS A TOOL FOR THE FUTURE
If one day heritage in Spain becomes a sector of activity
able to boost development in the areas where it exists and
the communities that have inherited it, it will be because
interpretation, good interpretation, has managed to blaze a
trail and take its place among the teams of experts
responsible for planning, designing and managing the
activation (exploitation) of heritage.

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THE END
Thank you for your attention

Interpreting our heritage with apps and smartphones

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