Augusta Reeves
Augusta Reeves, patron of the musée du quai Branly Android application
The musée du quai Branly continues to present some of its cultural offerings on digital media, and on March 21, 2011 it launched its application for Android media, thanks to the technical patron AUGUSTA REEVES.
With over fifteen years experience in the consulting industry, including more specifically in SAP, AUGUSTA REEVES has been involved in activities at the cutting edge of technology for five years now. With the aim of exceeding businesses’ basic IT needs and integrating them into today’s world of mobile Internet, AUGUSTA REEVES has developed a range of applications for desktop, web and mobile devices for its customers, like the musée du quai Branly’s Android mobility project.
Having a keen interest in the Arts, AUGUSTA REEVES wanted to support a museum with international exposure and a unique character. This is a long-standing ambition because in 2008, AUGUSTA REEVES had already supported the museum’s “The Jazz Century” exhibition in its first sponsorship.
In 2011, AUGUSTA REEVES and the musée du quai Branly continue their partnership. Over three months, teams from AUGUSTA REEVES and museum staff from the multimedia unit and information systems service worked together to develop the museum’s Android application.
For AUGUSTA REEVES, this sponsorship has meant a technologically challenging opportunity, as the application had to meet the very specific needs of a museum. At the same time, this sponsorship has enabled the museum to extend its range of mobile applications to a wider public. It is the first major national museum in France to have its own Android application.
overview of the musée du quai Branly’s Mobile application for Android
”quai Branly” application in five sections
* The museum’s Calendar where you can view today’s programme as well as current and future events.
* The four Journeys through the collections - “Jewellery and Ornaments”, “Funeral Rites”, “Masks,” “Femininity, fertility,” offer an intuitive and interactive map of the museum that locates these works in the collections. With 21 works per journey, each one is accompanied by a descriptive card and a picture in high definition (HD) allowing it to be observed in detail.
* The Museum in video provides an introduction to the museum in five parts: an overview of the museum and four specialised videos, each dedicated to one of the continents presented – Oceania, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Each video is subtitled in French and has an audio version available.
* The Practical information section offers an interactive map of the museum’s surroundings. Its main features are displaying pedestrian access points, car parks, Vélib’ stations, metro stations and bus stops.
* By sending electronic Postcards of architectural elements of the museum or snapshots of the Collections, visitors can share a cultural moment with friends and family and help them discover or rediscover the museum.
development of the musée du quai Branly Mobile application for Android
background
The primary motivation for musée du quai Branly management is firmly focused on ensuring access to the museum and its collections for as many people as possible. In the economic context of the growing Android Market (it increased 3 times faster in one year than the App Store*), developing the “Quai Branly” application on the Android platform became a must for the museum.
The AUGUSTA REEVES group is constantly expanding its business by developing a section on advanced technologies, including the Internet. Thus, a strategy involving creating applications for Android Phones (Java/J2EE) naturally follows from this approach.
Between the musée du quai Branly’s commitment to openness and AUGUSTA REEVES’ skills in mobile media, the “Quai Branly” application on the Android platform was created to offer the public a new means of accessing the museum.
Close collaboration between the museum’s Information Systems and Multimedia departments and AUGUSTA REEVES allowed an iterative, step-by-step working method to be established.
In order to respect the usability and design of the original site, a special system was developed, taking into account the characteristics of the Android platform. At the beginning of the project, for example, three versions of screen resolution were chosen out of the most commonly used (320x480, 480x800 and 480x854 pixels).
advantages of the android solution
* Google’s Open Source operating system is spreading very rapidly thanks to the efforts of manufacturers of all types of devices: PC, Phone, Tablet, TV. To date, more than 200,000 applications are available on the Android Market according to the website AndroLib.
* ”...The number of Android applications has increased by 127% over the last six months. At this rate, the Android Market could exceed the App Store by mid-2012. “- Study by Lookout. Source:http://www.businessmobile.fr/
* An integrated interactive map like Google map helps to expand its uses on mobiles. With location-based services the second most used after instant messaging, this option is one of the most popular.
* Google’s solution overcomes the proprietary systems issue, one that is gaining increasing interest from companies that can capitalise on the Java EE skills of their developers.
progress of our solution and complexities resolved
* The choice of a modular concept, though more complex to implement, allows for easier upgrading of the application.
* The solution is built on an architecture based on control of resources in an environment constrained by processor speed, limited memory, power consumption and low display performance.
* The other ‘‘expensive’’ choice as regards implementation, the decision on a multi-resolution solution for portability, today means that it is compatible with most devices on the market (320x480, 480x800, 480x854 pixels). On a similar subject, the application was developed to allow portability to other resolutions (including tablets).
* Building on the possibilities offered by the Android operating system and framework, our solution maximises the application’s resources: network access and memory management (e.g. use of web service results and storage of images). These optimisations overcome the problems inherent in mobile device hardware.
* The quai Branly Android mobile application offers an interactive map in its Practical Information section, using Google Android mapping services. This solution has the advantage of offering a precise map for the user to better orient themselves, with the possibility of zooming in on a particular geographical area. This solution is upgradable and was designed to be able to integrate location-based services
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