[December 11, 2014]

Google Glass a Game-changing Application in the Realm of Cultural Tourism

Antenna International, in partnership with The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, recently announced the first-ever integration of Google (News - Alert) Glass technology into a major art museum exhibition. The tour enhances the exhibition Keith Haring: The Political Line by providing museumgoers with images, audio and video relevant to select works of art, leveraging the GuidiGO publishing platform.

The museum's staff is enthusiastic about the potential for Glass to create a richer tour experience. With Glass, visitors get a hands-free, media-rich experience without ever having to look away from the art.

"Utilizing Google Glass as an interpretive platform in museums introduces an exciting and truly hands-free approach to cultural touring," said David Falter, President and CEO of Antenna International. "As expert storytellers, we're used to choreographing multimedia content for both the ear and the eye; now we're using wearable technology to explore new modes of storytelling to create deeper engagement with audiences and provide innovative ways to view works of art."

As one walks through the exhibition, looking at Haring's artwork, they hear the sounds of subway trains through the Google Glass, merging into eyewitness accounts of those who saw the artist at work in the subway. Further into the tour, one can also watch a CBS newsreel, showing transit police arriving and arresting the artist for defacing public property. As the artist is arrested, visitors feel part of the action as they stand amongst the evidence.

"We were very pleased to see how fast Antenna used GuidiGO Studio in combination with their content, to create this amazing Glass experience," said David Lerman, CEO of GuidiGO. "We see great potential for producing stunning immersive tours in museums combining the technology with meaningful content."

The tour srves as an example of the potential application for wearable technology in cultural tourism. According to Euromonitor International's Consumer Electronics research, wearable electronics technology is expected to rise from 9 million units sold globally in 2013 to a forecast 180 million in 2016. Additionally, World Travel Market's 2014 Global Trends Report states, "wearable electronics will become an important tool for travellers, who will be increasingly connected to the internet through different types of mobile devices." The report continues, "Travel companies will need to be swift to embrace wearable electronics as part of their strategies targeting always-connected consumers in order not to lose ground to competitors."

As Google's "Glass Explorers" (individuals selected to try a prototype) navigate how to best use wearable technology in daily life - and many speculate on consumers' willingness to adopt such devices - the Haring exhibition offers a compelling example of Glass's unique ability to enhance the museum experience. By engaging them in a deeper and more contextual touring experience, museumgoers absorb more information about the exhibition subject and leave with a greater sense of its importance and meaning.

"As an institution located in a cradle of technological innovation, the Fine Arts Museums are pleased to participate in an initiative that provides models for a deeper engagement with the collections and exhibitions under our care," said Colin B. Bailey, Director of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "We're excited to incorporate this pilot multimedia tour into our broader educational mission."

About Antenna International™

Founded in 1984, Antenna International™ is the leading provider of technology, content, and related services to the world's artistic, historic, and cultural institutions. In partnership with these clients, Antenna delivers an immersive, indelible experience in multiple languages to more than 63 million people across the globe each year. With a proud heritage of award-winning innovation, Antenna enables people to see more clearly, understand more deeply, and appreciate culture more widely using a variety of technologies.

About the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, comprising the de Young in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, are the largest public arts institution in San Francisco.

The de Young originated from the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition and was established as the Memorial Museum. Thirty years later, it was renamed in honor of Michael H. de Young, a longtime champion of the museum. The present copper-clad landmark building, designed by Herzog and de Meuron, opened in October 2005. It showcases the institution's significant collections of American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries; art from Africa, Oceania, and the Americas; costume and textile arts; and international modern and contemporary art.

The Legion of Honor was inspired by the French pavilion, a replica of the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur in Paris, at San Francisco's Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915. The museum opened in 1924 in the Beaux Arts-style building designed by George Applegarth on a bluff overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. Its holdings span 4,000 years and include European painting, sculpture, and decorative arts; ancient art from the Mediterranean basin; and the largest collection of works on paper in the American West.

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