Servizi a supporto della promozione turistica e culturale del territorio: il progetto living lab EPULIA
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/4749
application/pdf
1973-9494
4749
en
Ornella Galasso
Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage
virtual tour
Services in support of promoting territorial tourism and culture: the living lab project EPULIA
Text.Serial.Journal
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/
14
Articles
2014-12-20
2015-02-25
2014-12-20
2015-11-02
263-268
CSCH
Ornella Galasso
2014/12/20
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/4749
263
1973-9494
virtual tour
en
268
STÅHLBRÖST A., BERGVALL-KÅREBORN B., 2008, A Living Lab Approach. Public Systems in the Future. Possibilities, Challenges and Pitfalls, Constructing Representations of Users Needs
Services in support of promoting territorial tourism and culture: the living lab project EPULIA
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/download/4749/4234
14
S    ERVICES IN SUPPORT OF PROMOTING TERRITORIAL
     TOURISM AND CULTURE: THE LIVING LAB PROJECT
     EPULIA

   Domenica Suma•, Nicola Savino
   Centro di Progettazione, Design e Tecnologie dei materiali (CETMA), Brindisi, Italy


   Ornella Galasso
   GAL Valle d’Itria, Italy

   Keywords: Valle d’Itria, cultural tourism, mobile marketing, augmented reality
   technology, virtual tour


    1. Introduction
    Recent studies have revealed that the tourism industry has recognized and exploited
the advantages offered by ICT(Information and Communications Technology) in manag-
ing its relationship with the customer, by enhancing its web presence, but especially by
facilitating the management and administrative relations of structures and institutions op-
erating in the same sector: web technology and its derivations are able to control a series
of coordinated and integrated actions ranging from visual communication of content and
information, to the management and control of services and structures related to tourism
and territory. Mobile devices (mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, netbooks, etc.) have
the highest degree of penetration among the population: 97% of Italians have one, for a
total of nearly 50 million devices.




                                                                                                        CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
    Nowadays Internet access is preferentially through mobile devices. In this, mobile
marketing, which is one of the best marketing strategies available, exceeds web mar-
keting and recommends the use of different tools, integrating them into a system of
practices with high level of personal involvement.
    In this way the software applications become a creative workshop. In one year the in-
crease in software applications launched by companies (mobile branded app) was 186%
on a sample of the top spenders in advertising. Interactive media, such as augmented
reality, are getting more and more spread. Augmented reality is not intended to replace
or reduce the complexity and the richness of direct and sensorial on-field experience,
but it can extend the opportunities for experimentation and accessibility to different types
of user, in line with digitization trends promoted at international and local levels. There
is a growing need to attract and engage the tourist through ready-to-use smart devices/
mobile phone applications which allow economic and commercial benefits to be gained.
    It may be useful, for this purpose, to look at the Living Lab approach, based on
continuous interactions with the end user [1 - 2].
    The process is essentially based on the generation of requirements, design and evaluation.
These steps are repeated in three iterative design cycles that take their name from the result:
    • Concept
    • Prototyping
    • Final design of the system.

• Corresponding author: domenica.suma@cetma.it

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                                                                                                                                      The design is focused on finding solutions based on the needs of users and commu-
                                                                                                                                    nities, abandoning the classical view of the design according to which the user is the
                                                                                                                                    subject of theoretical studies and is excluded from the design process. This scenario
                                                                                                                                    is characterized by a clear balance between the figures involved in the design process
                                                                                                                                    [3 - 5].
D. Suma, N. Savino, O. Galasso - Services in support of promoting territorial tourism and culture: the living lab project EPULIA




                                                                                                                                     The end user is effectively part of the team project as an “expert of his own experi-
                                                                                                                                    ences”, and is facilitated in expressing himself through the researcher who must be
                                                                                                                                    able to engage him in his activities.



                                                                                                                                       2. The EPULIA Project


                                                                                                                                        The Apulian territory owes its success to the uniqueness of the territory, for its land-
                                                                                                                                    scape and its historical, cultural and gastronomic heritage, which cannot be found
                                                                                                                                    elsewhere. Apulia and its heritage, therefore, need to be supported by technological
                                                                                                                                    systems and tools to ensure the tourist visitor is offered the widest possible range of
                                                                                                                                    integrated services. In correlation with the rapid spread of smartphones and tablets of
                                                                                                                                    the last generation, the latest augmented reality (AR) technology has defined a new
                                                                                                                                    orientation for the IT market.
                                                                                                                                        The goal of the project “Enjoy Puglia using Ubiquitous technology in Landscape
                                                                                                                                    Interactive Adventures” (EPULIA) is to develop innovative and technologic applica-
                                                                                                                                    tions through which users can enjoy entertainment and educational contents in an
                                                                                                                                    interactive way by means of multimedia and mobile technology. The platform aims to
                                                                                                                                    provide services which support the promotion of the cultural tourism of Apulia, and pro-
                                                                                                                                    vide tourists with information and interesting contents, including routes and itineraries,
                                                                                                                                    with the definition of real interactive and geo-referenced maps, also providing direc-
                                                                                                                                    tions to where typical accommodation can be found. The main objective is to define a
                                                                                                                                    new methodological approach to the interdisciplinary sharing of contents and educa-
                                                                                                                                    tional themes. This will enable the promotion of cultural and environmental itineraries,
                                                                                                                                    capable of providing innovative multimedia contents and a variety of communication
                                                                                                                                    channels so that an adequate knowledge of the Apulian territory can be acquired, in
                                                                                                                                    particular that of the Valle d’Itria, which lies between the towns of Locorotondo, Martina
                                                                                                                                    Franca and Cisternino.
                                                                                                                                        The EPULIA project is supported by the P.O. FESR PUGLIA 2007-2013 – ASSE I –
                                                                                                                                    Linea di intervento 1.4 – Azione 1.4.2 – “Investiamo nel vostro futuro” – Project EPULIA
                                                                                                                                    - Enjoy Puglia using Ubiquitous technology in Landscape Interactive Adventures. This
                                                                                                                                    work derives from requirement number 615 of the list which was published within the
                                                                                                                                    “Manifestazioni di interesse su specifici fabbisogni, esigenze e problematiche” as part
                                                                                                                                    of the Apulian Living Labs initiative expressed by the Local Action Group, the GAL Valle
                                                                                                                                    d’Itria (Gruppo di Azione Locale Valle d’Itria) [6 - 7].
                                                                                                                                         With the support of the skills of SMEs (LifeResult, Info.Sist and Cedimpresa) and
                                                                                                                                    the Research Laboratory (Consortium CETMA - Engineering, Design and Materials
                                                                                                                                    Technologies Center ) in terms of research and experimentation, the project aims to
                                                                                                                                    integrate into the web platform, prototypes of interaction in real time using Augmented
                                                                                                                                    Reality (AR) technology, testing ways of utilizing the technology to involve all percep-
                                                                                                                                    tual modalities [10]. The goal is to develop a system of voice interface with a virtual in-


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terface, useful for improving access to virtual reality technologies for users who do not
have the skills or physical ability to use a keyboard and a standard mouse (users with
disabilities). The applications allow you to view digital contents relating to tourist sites
of interest. In particular, through the use of augmented reality technology and mobile
devices, the EPULIA AR APP, will allow the user to view places of interest together with
the associated digitized cultural contents [11].
   At a methodological level, the project, EPULIA, aims to start from the definition of the
needs of multi-target users and from the definition of system requirements, in order to
subsequently identify the most appropriate architectural scheme for the thematic platform.
With a view of internationalization, the project intends to pursue the following actions:
   --      promotion of new digital tools at the service of tourism;
   --      creation of collaborative environments for the enjoyment of multi-channel contents.

     An ICT project, regardless of the type of target, of the size of catchment area and of
the specific objectives it intends to achieve, is based on the integration of different com-
ponents. Methodology, technology, organization, processes and procedures, must be
integrated into a model of complex service which needs to be designed so as to meet,
effectively and efficiently, not only the needs of the user, but also the expected results
and an adequate return in terms of a positive organizational impact and cost/benefit.
     The Living Lab approach, based on the iterative method has the advantage of
increasing knowledge through dialogue among the participants. The sharing of this
knowledge enriches and improves the learning process and facilitates changes in the
perspective of an innovative design. In order to allow interaction within the develop-
ment team, all players involved must be equipped with an open mind to be able to
perceive, aggregate, and analyze the ideas and spontaneous reactions of the users.
     The EPULIA project will deploy multi-modal and multi-channel applications based
on the innovative technique of augmented reality. It will include user friendly and mul-




                                                                                                       CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
tilingual interactive interfaces, which will guide the user through routes and touristic
itineraries populated by digitized contents and cultural heritage enjoyed in new inter-
active ways and realized with the most advanced web oriented technologies and 3D.
     The prototype of the digital archive, which will be built as part of the project pro-
posal, will have as its main feature, the availability of places located in the territory and
organized in GIS-based interactive maps which allow the user to retrieve information
in the shortest possible time. This map will allow points of interest to be selected in
addition to services in support of the promotion of the cultural tourism of Apulia able
to provide information of interest for the tourist together with technologically advanced
services that, through systems accessible by means of mobile technology, provide
tourists an added value in information retrieval.
     The applications listed below, allow the digital contents relating to the various places
of interest to be viewed:

      ►► Through the use of augmented reality technology (which allows you to over-
         lay information for visualization in camera mode) and the use of a mobile
         device (mobile telephone, tablet or webcam), the EPULIA AR APP will allow
         the user to visualize digitized touristic points of interest with cultural con-
         tents associated to them, in two different ways [9]:




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                                                                                                                                           • on site (places of interest): pointing with a mobile device equipped with a
                                                                                                                                             video camera and gyroscope, the user can view additional content related
                                                                                                                                             to points of interest in the area to interact with data stored in suitable struc-
                                                                                                                                             tures;
                                                                                                                                           • remote: the user will be able to evaluate a proposed path of interest.
D. Suma, N. Savino, O. Galasso - Services in support of promoting territorial tourism and culture: the living lab project EPULIA




                                                                                                                                          ►►The EPULIA Virtual Tour APP will allow the user, from a geo-referenced
                                                                                                                                            map and distinct areas of interest, to directly select an area, to virtually
                                                                                                                                            visit it and, possibly, to investigate the surrounding area. For each point of
                                                                                                                                            interest, in agreement with the project partners, thematic itineraries were
                                                                                                                                            created; they were then populated with virtual multimedia and interactive
                                                                                                                                            contents relating to the landscapes, historical aspects and detailed informa-
                                                                                                                                            tion on the socio-economic fabric of the area (accommodation, catering,
                                                                                                                                            food and wine, local products, museums, etc). The user can select the path
                                                                                                                                            or the scene to be displayed in landscape mode directly from a virtual map
                                                                                                                                            (Google map), guided by icons which are placed at various cultural or tour-
                                                                                                                                            istic points of interest. The virtual navigation interface through simple con-
                                                                                                                                            trols enables operations like zooming, tracking and reference detection to
                                                                                                                                            be performed [8]. Consequently, the user is able to move from one scenario
                                                                                                                                            to another, by simply selecting markers. The application described allows
                                                                                                                                            anyone, in any location and with any mobile device to enjoy and appreciate
                                                                                                                                            the beauty of the historical and cultural heritage and landscape located in
                                                                                                                                            the Valle d’Itria. The versatility of the principal applications in the project al-
                                                                                                                                            low for immediate adaptation to other territorial contexts.

                                                                                                                                     Below (Figure 1) is an architectural scheme which describes the organization of the
                                                                                                                                    entire system.




                                                                                                                                                                Figure 1. The EPULIA architecture




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  References

 [1]    ALMIRALL E., WAREHAM J., 2008, Living Labs And Open Innovation: Roles And Ap-
        plicability, The Electronic Journal for Virtual Organizations and Networks

 [2]    ALMIRALL E., LEE M., AND WAREHAM J., 2012, Mapping Living Labs in the Land-
        scape of Innovation Methodologies, Technology Innovation Management Review.

 [3]    BERGVALL-KÅREBORN B., AND STÅHLBRÖST A., 2008, User Expressions Trans-
        lated to Requirement, Human Technology

 [4]    STÅHLBRÖST A., 2008, Forming future IT: the living lab way of user involvement,
        Doctoral thesis.

 [5]    STÅHLBRÖST A., BERGVALL-KÅREBORN B., 2008, A Living Lab Approach. Public
        Systems in the Future. Possibilities, Challenges and Pitfalls, Constructing Represen-
        tations of Users Needs

 [6]    OPENLIVINGLABS, 2014, [Online], Available: http://www.openlivinglabs.eu/ [Ac-
        cessed May 2014]

 [7]    LIVINGLABS REGIONE PUGLIA, 2014, [Online], Available: http://livinglabs.regione.
        puglia.it/ [Accessed May 2014]

 [8]    MEDIAPOST, Data and targeting insider, [Online], Available: http://www.mediapost.
        com/publications/data-and-targeting-insider [Accessed May 2014]

 [9]    PRUNESTI A., LALLI F., 2011, Geolocalizzazione e mobile marketing. Fare business
        con le App e i social game, FrancoAngeli Editore, pp. 176

 [10] LIBERATI N., 2014, Augmented reality and ubiquitous computing: the hidden potenti-
      alities of augmented reality, AI & SOCIETY




                                                                                                      CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
 [11]   FACCIPONTI J., 2014, Sustainable Cultural Tourism Policies: Overview, Encyclope-
        dia of Global Archaeology, pp. 7158-7162.




  Biographical notes

   Ornella Galasso, graduated in Design and Management of Corporate Com-
munication at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia; she works at the GAL,
Gruppo d’Azione Locale Valle d’Itria. She deals with territorial development strate-
gies and operates within the framework of national and international cooperation
on the same topics.

   Nicola Savino has a degree in Electronic Engineering from the Politecnico
di Bari. He works at the CETMA Consortium, Engineering, Design and Materials
Technologies Center (Centro di Progettazione, Design e Technologie dei Materiali)
and is responsible for the Automation and Controls Area, where he is active in lines
of research including cultural heritage, energy efficiency, Independent living and
mechatronics applied to neuromotor rehabilitation.


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                                                                                                                                        Domenica Suma has a degree in Computer Engineering from the University of
                                                                                                                                    Lecce. She works as a researcher at the Division of Computer Engineering Consor-
                                                                                                                                    tium CETMA Engineering, Design and Materials Technologies Center, (Centro di
                                                                                                                                    Progettazione, Design e Technologie dei Materiali). She carries out research in the
                                                                                                                                    field of industrial analysis and process re-engineering, the development of innova-
D. Suma, N. Savino, O. Galasso - Services in support of promoting territorial tourism and culture: the living lab project EPULIA




                                                                                                                                    tive solutions for the design, modeling and development of distributed information
                                                                                                                                    systems.




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