Abstract
The paper presents an implementation of iOS mobile application designed as a virtual exhibition, which aims to increase the accessibility and visibility of physical objects that composite cultural heritage elements. Mobile technologies have seen a huge evolution in the last years and people are very attracted by smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. Taking into consideration the impact of mobile technologies in all the activity fields, an important research objective is to analyze the influence of mobile applications designed as virtual exhibitions on cultural heritage promotion and on people cultural needs.Keywords: Mobile Application, Virtual Exhibition, Cultural Heritage1 Mobile TechnologiesMobile technologies have seen a huge increase in the last period [1]. Some operating systems captured the mobile market. These are iOS, Android and Windows Phone. iOS is an operating system for mobile devices developed by Apple and distributed exclusively for Apple devices: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Apple TV. Interface control elements consist of user gestures such as swipe (touch smooth), tap (simple touch), pinch (two-finger touch).Android is an operating system for mobile devices based on the Linux kernel, developed by Google, with a direct manipulation based GUI designed primarily for mobile devices equipped with touch screen, such as smartphones and tablets. At the same time, it is used as the operating system for TVs, game consoles, navigation systems, digital cameras.The main advantage of the Android operating system is that it is an open, free platform, due to the fact that it is based on the Java programming language, which is also open. This is the reason why the app store run by Google, called Google Play Store, comprises a total of 1.2 million applications.Windows Phone is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft. It is considered to be the successor to Windows Mobile, although the two versions are not compatible. Mobile applications for Windows Phone are developed using C# programming language and development environment Visual Studio. It is used, too, C++ or HTML5 along with JavaScript.What is new in Windows Phone is the user interface, called Modern, in the past being known as Metro. The first version of Windows Phone 7 was launched in 2010. Later was WP 7.5, WP 7.8, WP 8. Currently released version is WP 8.1.Current mobile technologies presented in developing applications shows prerequisites for all existing domains.2 Virtual Exhibitions and Digital ExhibitionsThe term exhibition in the broad sense indicates that someone tries to expose a concept or topic explaining logical content or by reference to other concepts or topics that helps to highlight the meaning.The exhibition term indicates an event with a specific place and time during which the public can enjoy a range of objects, paper or multimedia, books, paintings, sculptures and other objects linked together and organized according to logical criteria, thematic, space, history and made available permanently or temporarily by one or more narrative routes and having a scientific, educational and / or promotional objective [2].The term virtual exhibition is mainly used for 3D reconstruction in cases, where there is a virtualization environment in which objects are located. Through digital exhibition is inferred that heritage items are not subject to any reconstruction process, the work of art being treated individually, possibly included in a way that treats the logical combination of materials, according to different criteria: subject, author, time, techniques.Cultural institutions rely increasingly exhibitions leaving the traditional parameters of space and time and IT technologies provided. These can be exhibited in museums and galleries and web spaces, in which case they are called online virtual exhibitions [3]. A virtual exhibition is a collection of digital hypermedia objects that meet the following conditions:- are linked by a common goal, an interdisciplinary topic, a concept, an idea, an anniversary, a special event or person;- are presented in 2D or/and 3D;- occasionally are stored in distributed networks;- are accessible by the potential offered by modern technology, thanks to a system architecture designed to provide users new experience. …
Highlights
Virtualization environment in which objects are located
The advantages of a virtual exhibition are the followings [4], [5]: - promoting cultural heritage preserved by institutions; - serving as a learning tool that helps developing knowledge; - enabling the access to a large number of documents and articles, more than any traditional exhibition could expose; - making available to the public the most valuable artworks or documents without any risk; - allowing users to have access to documents and papers that might not otherwise be available; - making it possible to view certain parts and details of works that could not otherwise be seen, even by direct analysis of the original; - remaining accessible over time, since they are not limited during the current event;
- can be improved by users involving; - can be arranged even with low budgets and are much cheaper than traditional exhibitions; - can serve as an online repository for information on physical exhibition; - can have a positive impact on the tourism industry, education, volume of sales of IT equipment and image of the country [6]
Summary
Virtualization environment in which objects are located. Through digital exhibition is inferred that heritage items are not subject to any reconstruction process, the work of art being treated individually, possibly included in a way that treats the logical combination of materials, according to different criteria: subject, author, time, techniques. A virtual exhibition is a collection of digital hypermedia objects that meet the following conditions: - are linked by a common goal, an interdisciplinary topic, a concept, an idea, an anniversary, a special event or person; - are presented in 2D or/and 3D; - occasionally are stored in distributed networks; - are accessible by the potential offered by modern technology, thanks to a system architecture designed to provide users new experience.
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