Developed initially for the iPhone in English and French, this application, will first be available for free from the App Store on its launch. From 20 July, customers will be able to download it for €1.59.
After being trialled at the end of 2009 by more than 200 visitors, in its final version, this application provides access to a large amount of audio and video content about the gardens. The leading specialists on the Versailles estate (curators, architects, gardeners, water engineers) welcome visitors, presenting an item of historical information, a detail about the decor, an insightful viewpoint and aspects of life on the estate otherwise unseen by visitors. This enhanced visit will enable visitors to discover the Versailles Gardens onsite or remotely.
Visiting onsite incorporates two innovative applications, geopositioning and enhanced reality, which are activated as soon as visitors arrive in the Versailles Gardens.
Geopositioning (Spot Image et Inter Atlas) enables visitors to automatically receive contextual information relevant to the area where they are and enjoy immediate access to audiovisual content (interviews, archived documents, etc.)
Enhanced reality functions on the mobile, implemented by Orange Labs, enable visitors to open a virtual window onto the gardens, accessing information that is superimposed onto the image filmed by the mobile.
Orange and Château de Versailles have also developed a virtual tour for people who would like to prepare their visit in advance or who may be unable to get to the Versailles Gardens. This remote access offers video, audio and photo content located on a map of the estate. All of this content is embedded in the application and can therefore be enjoyed offline.
This application has been developed thanks to a joint initiative aimed at using innovation for the benefit of culture and visitors. For several years now, the Château de Versailles and Orange have been implementing projects at the crossroads between culture and innovation, under the VersaillesLab label.
For the Palace of Versailles, this innovation is part of the Digital Versailles project (Grand Versailles Numérique, GVN). Launched in 2005, the GVN aims to design, test and then deploy new digital tools to enhance the visit of the museum and the Versailles estate.
As a partner in this initiative, Orange is demonstrating its capacity to use digital technology for the benefit of culture for as many people as possible and to support institutions and local authorities in their initiatives to promote heritage.
Further innovative projects will be developed in connection with VersaillesLab over the coming months.