Use Cases

Mobile Services for Zoo Visitors

July 12, 2019 By Gina Wurms tourism |GPS|, |Bluetooth Low Energy|, |client based| 0

A mobile app offers zoo visitors interesting and interactive features and facilitates orientation around the zoo.

At a glance

2D/3D terrain maps
navigation within the zoo grounds, thematic tours
geo-/time-based triggering of media content & event notes

Problem Definition

Zoos are usually very extensive and confusing areas. In spite of signs, it is often difficult for visitors to find their way around without problems. Also, in many cases, the information on the animals is not prepared for specific target groups or is poorly accessible, e.g. when there is a large crowd of visitors at an enclosure.

Solution

A zoo app shows a map of all animals and attractions. The user can select an animal enclosure, other POIs (gastronomy, sanitary facilities, car parks, etc.) or an event as a navigation destination and is guided from current location to destination using easy-to-follow directions. Thematic tours of the zoo can also be selected, e.g. a children's tour, Savannah tour, etc. Upcoming events (e.g. animal shows, feedings) can be highlighted using push notifications. Here, it is also possible to start a navigation to the event location.

For each animal species, detailed information can be retrieved. When a visitor approaches an enclosure, various media content on the animal is suggested, e.g. text, video or audio. This way, the information can be made available in an illustrative form and appropriate to the target audience (e.g. for children, for specialists). Interactive contents such as games or quizzes are also possible.

Technical Implementation

The technology works seamlessly indoors and outdoors. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons are installed indoors and GPS-based positioning is used outdoors. For positioning, the user’s mobile device receives GPS or Bluetooth signals, which are interpreted by an app installed on the device. The determined location of the user can be used for turn-by-turn navigation to a specific POI or an event location.

When a visitor approaches an animal enclosure and thus enters a virtual area ("geofence"), the zoo app automatically triggers context-related content suggestions such as text, audio or video files. Different time- or location-based triggers and resulting push messages can be defined using the web-based infsoft Automation Engine.

The captured position data can optionally be transferred to the infsoft LocAware platform^® and made available for infsoft Analytics, enabling easy evaluation of visitor behavior.