Digital guidning på campus Alnarp : tekniska lösningar för riktad information till olika målgrupper

Abstract: Today digital guides are most frequently used by the museum and tourism industries. They are also used for education purposes. They make it possible to distribute information and have it easily accessible. In addition to written information they add sound, pictures and videos which lift the whole impression of the visited place to a higher level. A variety of systems currently in use today have been evaluated. Among these, five cases have been selected and studied thoroughly as they seem to suit the needs of Campus Alnarp better than the others. These systems are: • PDA. The guide contains maps, pictures, sound and video and is rented by the visitor. • Private cell phones to call a server and listen to a spoken text. • Downloading information to a MP3-player. Only for sound. • PDA combined with a GPS navigation system, where the equipment is rented. • 3G-guides for cellphones containing maps, sound, pictures and text, which are rented out. And guides with only pictures and text, which the visitors download to their cellphones. To choose guidesystem is a strategic decision. No single system is perfect. They all have advantages and disadvantages. The recommendation is to go for a system with PDA as it is the most versatile and offers every kind of presentation in any combination. A system with MP3-download can also be recommended. It offers many possibilities for digital guides used in education.