12 March 2018, SXSW, Austin TX.
EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum has announced a new digital experience at SXSW in the presence of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. The museum has partnered with Cork based Digisoft.tv to build a smartphone app for the provision of multi-lingual audio guides. Audio commentary is triggered by in-venue Bluetooth beacons, bringing a virtual tour guide (English, French, Spanish, Italian and German) to museum visitors. The app also enables experiences for visitors with extra vision or hearing requirements. The audio guide will be available on 200 pre-installed smart devices for students and tour groups in the museum itself.
Digisoft’s UX and mobile development team built the audio guide in close collaboration with museum staff. Digisoft’s audio content management system, Waymigo, is used to manage the app content with Bluetooth beacons used to trigger guides in each gallery. Waymigo was first deployed in 2017 to power the audio in EPIC’s VR tour. Digisoft will release support for Amazon’s Digital assistant, Alexa in Q2 ‘18
EPIC Design Manager, Heather Dowling explains ‘’We will continue to add languages as we see our audience needs evolving – the best thing about having our own App acting as an audio guide is that we can adapt it easily and cost effectively. There are plans to add Irish Signing Language as well as closed captions in the near future. ‘’
Dowling adds – ‘’We now have the ability to tailor the audio guide to the nationality or interests of visitors. For example, the version that an American visitor will use can highlight the many stories of all the Americans of Irish descent, or we can create a version that focuses on the exploits of our influential females for visitors coming to celebrate International Women’s Day. We might even do it Irish county by county as many of our visitors are interested in that information too.’’
Speaking at the Ireland pavilion at SXSW, Digisoft CMO Darragh O’Brien stated “Digisoft and EPIC have collaborated to deploy an experience platform that engages visitors, empowers the EPIC content team and streamlines daily operations at the museum.”
By combining 360 degree photography and immersive audio with smart apps and virtual reality headsets, Digisoft have built a truly engaging experience platform which aims to contribute significantly to promoting Irish museums and tourist attractions to international tour operators and travel agents at events and conferences.
Digisoft’s portfolio includes Virtual, Mixed and Augmented Reality solutions for attraction and venue operators globally.
The EPIC Audio Guide, supported by Enterprise Ireland, is on show from March 11-15 in the Ireland pavilion at SXSW Stand 1125
ABOUT DIGISOFT.TV
Digisoft.tv is a global product builder serving the telco, media and tourism sectors. We build these products using our extensive experience in video, mobile, virtual reality and multiscreen technologies.
Digisoft is merging the worlds of audio, video, education and VR to create immersive experiences for venues and tourist attractions all over the world. By leveraging 16 years of experience in delivering interactive media experiences for household brands, Digisoft is placing the focus on customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.digisoft.tv
ABOUT EPIC THE IRISH EMIGRATION MUSEUM
EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum is a state-of-the-art interactive experience located in the beautiful vaults of the 1820 Custom House Quarter building in Dublin’s Docklands, the original departure point for so many of Ireland’s emigrants. It will inspire and guide you on a journey to discover the stories of Irish emigration around the world, from early times to the modern day.
Over the centuries, some 10 million people have left the island of Ireland. At EPIC you can step through 20 themed galleries to find out why people left, see how they influenced the world they found, and experience the connection between their descendants and Ireland today. Immerse yourself in the stories of some of the most remarkable tales of sacrifice, endurance, adventure, and discovery the world has ever known. EPIC brings these amazing stories to life in a unique and spectacular way.
• First major Emigration museum in the world
• #2 Museums in Dublin on TripAdvisor
• Short-listed for 2018 European Museum of The Year
• Highly Commended by International Children’s Museum of the Year
• 150,000+ visitors in 2018
EPIC was founded by Irishman Neville Isdell, who held the position of Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company from 2004 to 2009. Located in the CHQ Building in Dublin’s Custom House Quay it is open 7 days a week, 10am-6.45pm. Visit www.epicchq.com for further information.
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