Project ARM, the innovative answer to the needs of museum-goers and monument visitors

Are we the same visitors we were yesterday? When we step into an art gallery, do we look at it in the same way as we would have done a decade ago? What do we expect to be surrounded by when we set foot in a museum? The approach of the so-called experience economy with its focus on specific trends and lifestyles has described a shift of attention from the enjoyment of goods per se to the emotional impact that comes with it. And the resulting picture tells us that the way we interact with the world’s cultural heritage has sensibly changed over the last decades. We are visitors in search of experiences that are first of all emotional and customizable depending on our preferences.

Today’s generations of cultural consumers present us with a new set of challenges that forces culture-related institutions to rely on a new sensitivity and new tools if they want to meet the ever-growing needs for customization, involvement and sharing.

Project ARM is a platform aimed at re-shaping the way visitors experience the offer of museums, and a possible solution to meet the needs described above. Created in the laboratories of ARM23, an innovative start-up business specialized in augmented reality and image recognition, Project ARM is a cutting-edge system providing museums with an efficient and modern tool for promoting their collections and managing their offer.

An established brand in the IT market, Project ARM inaugurates this year a technological partnership with the Grande Museo del Duomo in Florence, and will contribute to the enhancement of the museum’s offer by releasing a dedicated app.

Thanks to an elegantly-designed and intuitive interface, the app will guide visitors in the discovery of the centuries-old Florentine heritage, which features outstanding architectural artworks surrounding Piazza del Duomo and Piazza San Giovanni. From the Baptistery to the Cathedral, and eventually inside the rooms of the museum, visitors will be able to use their smartphones to scan the artworks included in the app (whether they are paintings, sculptures or architectural parts) and receive, within few seconds, curated multimedia content in augmented reality. The app will go beyond the limitations of traditional audioguides and will entice visitors in a customizable and interactive itinerary, enriched by the option to organize one’s own tour by choosing among the featured artworks. Visitors will have the chance to learn while having fun thanks to mini-quizzes, and share their experiences via their social networks accounts. And there will be more: visitors can keep up-to-date with news and events concerning the Museum even after they have left the premises, simply by accessing the blog and events section of the app, or use the “Around you” section to locate points of interest in the surroundings of the museum.

We are speaking about a unique tool leading to unique visiting experiences, this is why Project ARM is a tangible and complete answer to the multiple needs of modern visitors.