To understand what they are seeing, visitors to the Municipal Museum of Loulé are no longer just reading the captions in the shop windows, as they now have the mobile application (app) at their disposal. Hidden Stories, which was launched on Friday, the 23rd of September, as part of the European Heritage Days.
With this app, it will be possible for all visitors to the Museum to reproduce in their tablets ou smartphone, videos about the museum pieces, which explain and contextualize them.
And with the guarantee that this application is unique nationally. «For using triggers, instead of the traditional QRcode, this application is unique across the country», guaranteed Mauro Figueiredo, the creator of Hidden Stories.
Professor at the Superior Institute of Engineering of the University of Algarve (UAlg), it was Mauro Figueiredo himself who proposed this application to the Museu de Loulé. There were advances, setbacks (in the meantime, an attempt to finance CREN, which failed) and what was planned for six months took a year to be done. Still, Mauro Figueiredo is proud of the final product.
«This application is unique in the country because it uses the code trigger. While the QR code can be used to associate a sheet with part information, with the triggers we can customize according to the image of the museum and associate the three-dimensional animations presented», he explains. So what is used is an image, which has the museum's color and the museum's pattern, not a code.
It's from tablets in a fist that Mauro Figueiredo will show visitors to the Museum of Loulé how the application is used, with this new functionality. «Anyone can download it at home, although it only works here at the Museum», he explains.
The process is simple: in some windows where the pieces are displayed there is a small plaque with a number on the side. After opening the application, the tablets ou smartphone for that issue, an animated video is then played, in which a historical framework of what that piece looked like in its time or how it was used is given.
For example: one of the pieces exhibited at the Museu de Loulé is the rest of a vase. As soon as you point to the number of the showcase where it is displayed, a video appears on the electronic equipment that demonstrates the reconstruction of the vessel in its entirety. Councilwoman Ana Machado, who also accompanied the visit to the Museum and the launch of the application, was delighted. “We are making history. I'm really thrilled», she confessed.
Historical research and the game that puts tradition at the service of innovation
If the electronic part was in charge of Mauro Figueiredo, the historical research (and reconstruction) was the responsibility of the Câmara de Loulé. Alexandra Pires is an archeologist at the municipality and was one of the people who was responsible for this task. The great asset that points out in the application is the ease of reading and interpretation that it will bring to all its visitors. “People, when they look at the objects that are on display, cannot immediately associate them with how they were in their time,” he says.
Another peculiarity of this application is the fact that it brings, incorporated, a game: the traditional game of the mill or alquerque, which can be played anywhere. «In this one, you can never be tied, which is good», says Professor Mauro Figueiredo, between laughs. In one of the showcases of the Museu de Loulé, an original, of medieval origin, is displayed, which served as inspiration for the design of the digital version.
“Even for kids this game is good because two players are always needed. Therefore, the child is always living with people and not with a machine», explains, in turn, Alexandra Pires.
The corrections still to be made
Rita Moreira, head of the Loulé Chamber of Culture Division, also did not miss the launch of the application. Although visibly satisfied with the final result, she points out some corrections to be made. The first: the fact that the Museum does not have tablets to offer your visitors. «We had three, but Professor Mauro Figueiredo noticed that they do not have the necessary technology to run the application», he confesses to Sul Informação.
The second: the fact that the number that is in each showcase does not correspond to the number that is marked on the pieces. Soon, the visitor, upon arrival, sees the number 1 in the window, but the piece that will be reproduced in the tablets ou smartphone it may not be the one marked with the number 1. “This causes some confusion and is something we have to reformulate”, says Rita Moreira.
Even so, the head of the Division reveals that this application is in line with one objective: «to increase visitors» of the Museum of Loulé. “Increasing the public, the activities will also always increase”, he concludes.
Click here to download the application Hidden Stories
Photos: Pedro Lemos|Sul Informação
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