For one of our big Spring – Summer 2012 website projects, we are actually relaunching one of our big heritage web applications.  The site features over [...]]]> Just a short post from me this week outlining a number of approaches we are now taking with mobile app development and mobile web development

Mobile First Responsive Design

For one of our big Spring – Summer 2012 website projects, we are actually relaunching one of our big heritage web applications.  The site features over 1000 interpretive themes, and almost half million museum, archive and local history items.

The site is popular, and ever more so on mobile: nearly 20% of the access is using a mobile device.  We need to deliver maps of varying complexities, catalogue views and search over the many 1000′s of pages and items.

We are starting from a mobile first approach for the relaunch, as so much of the site’s future is tied to mobile interactivity.  We are optimising the amount of Javascript and HTML that comes out first using detection.  Then we’re progressively enhancing the user experience depending on device capability using CSS3 media queries and HTML5.

We are attempting to avoid assuming user context based on device  – we’re worried by the amount of ‘mobile’ views being presented to new iPad, it’s just wrong.

Using Titanium for Cross Platform Android and iPhone Development

We’re using Titanium to build a cross platform Android and iPhone App to access our CollectionsBase API, using native mapping to deliver geospatial contexts to the search responses

Using Objective C for iPhone Development

For an iPhone Application, the augmented reality library using vision detection of museum objects really only works properly compiled Objective C and native for the iPhone, so we are doing that too.

Since that time, I’ve been working with organisations that have all at one time or another had handheld tour guides and exhibition information [...]]]> Twenty years ago I worked on a Machine Vision system. It wasn’t exactly a ‘consumer’ setup, given that the equipment was five foot tall, six foot wide and over 3 million dollars.

Since that time, I’ve been working with organisations that have all at one time or another had handheld tour guides and exhibition information devices in one form or another:

• Infrared scanning handhelds using reflectors
• Ultrasonic setups
• QR code scanners and QR codes
• RFID scanners and active and passive devices
• Near Field Communications setups (though yet to play with any of that)

All these setups required in gallery installation of some form of fiducial markers. Some of these systems provoke real problems for in gallery staff not wanting to be technical support for QR code scanner downloads (for example).

All the time, for more than a decade I have thought: one day, visitors will carry in their own equipment and it will just scan the painting itself.

That day has arrived.

We have developed, using the Augmented Reality service Layar, a method of using the object recognition aspect normally used for overlaying a 3D augment to actually trigger a live search of Archives and Museums Collections Management Systems held data.

Here it is in action with the Black Country History postcards:

Further details of the CollectionsVision system are here

Yes, there’s still a long way to go; but MVS and fiducial marker less installations: the future?

Why a ‘plunge’ ?

For us, this is a big [...]]]> This month, we’ve taken the plunge and committed ourselves and our future web development to HTML5 and responsive web design.  When using our website on devices of all different resolutions you will find that it reorganises itself to the most appropriate layout for the device.

Why a ‘plunge’ ?

For us, this is a big thing.  Much of our work is within the public sector, for local, regional and national government organisations.  Within many of those organisations the use of IE6 is still prevalent.  It just keeps clinging on.  Whilst a few years ago this could still be justified, the explosion of customers of those organisations now using mobile, tablet and other interface devices of varying resolutions means a correctly responding, accessible website has to now be delivered.  It’s not going to go away: IE6′s (and older!) time is officially over.  Whilst we are using a shim approach to help IE6 cope, it really is no longer going to be pretty.

20 times as many people access our sites using a mobile phone than use IE6

Creating a separate mobile site is fine if there’s a few marketing pages.  36000 pages covering museum objects, search, deep integration:  HTML5 responsive design via the one presentation layer is the way to go.

Anything else is madness.

With 3 new large public sector sites to go live shortly, all responsive design, watch this space.

How?

Our CollectionsBase digital heritage aggegator is output agnostic.  From its internal model, we transform using XSLT to standards compliant output feeds: GeoRSS and GeoJSON

By utilising a simple transform, we can [...]]]> In the past couple of weeks we’ve launched Augmented Reality Layar layers for two separate projects with minimal development.

How?

Our CollectionsBase digital heritage aggegator is output agnostic.  From its internal model, we transform using XSLT to standards compliant output feeds: GeoRSS and GeoJSON

By utilising a simple transform, we can surface the geospatial data as Layar compliant JSON without any internal modifications to CollectionsBase: it just works.

This is one of the key elements of using an API centric infrastructure model: rapid re-purposing of search response.

The system re-purposes Heritage Data and provides in context search mechanisms over the heritagear interface rather than simply listing 2D and 3D objects near you.  By performing search and filtering, we provide the many thousands of geocoded 2D and 3D museums and archives objects metadata context and prevent the augmented reality heritage AR layar based presentation from becoming overloaded.

Dr Nick Barratt, Lead Consultant for BBC’s ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ and Editor in Chief of Your Family History presented [...]]]> Surrey History Centre : Award Winners !

We are very proud to announce that Surrey History Centre and Exploring Surrey’s Past online collection has won the prestigious Archive of the Year 2012 award.

Dr Nick Barratt, Lead Consultant for BBC’s ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ and Editor in Chief of Your Family History presented Julian Pooley, Surrey History Centre Manager, with the Archive of the Year Award 2012.

• the best range of services provided online, including access to digitised records

• the best service from staff
• the best facilities in the search rooms
• the most accessible and highest quality finding aids and catalogues
• the widest range of documents available for consultation
• the strongest connections with the local community
• the best facilities for disabled people

Further details of the award on ESP web site

About Exploring Surrey’s Past

The website uses our CollectionsBase museums, archives and local history aggregation and search engine. Surrey History Centre use a range of bespoke Access, Excel spreadsheet, bespoke HER database and Axiell CALM archives.

CollectionsBase API is coupled to a bespoke front end offering social media commenting and tagging of collection records.

During summer 2012 we shall be launching Exploring Surrey’s Past 2.0 with richer user engagement, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest integration, social media integration, hyper local augmented reality and mobile over a new responsive design WordPress based front end.

The new museum, archive, library, HER website comprises a distributed architecture spread across a number of host servers:

As web development becomes ever more commoditised, it’s all too easy to select one of the big three for a client: fine, if a fully fledged, Swiss Army Knife content management system is needed – less fine [...]]]> Ever more the debates rage.  Simplicity and fitness for purpose, though, is beginning to take a back seat.

As web development becomes ever more commoditised, it’s all too easy to select one of the big three for a client: fine, if a fully fledged, Swiss Army Knife content management system is needed – less fine if the client needs a lean, fast, fit for a specific purpose application.

We develop for WordPress, Joomla and Drupal: the plug in, hook based architecture is great – but have you ever traced through just what these systems are doing before that final delivery of HTML to the browser?  Out of the box, these systems need a lot of tuning and configuration.  Seeing statements like ‘oh, it’s more of a database … well, just use a custom post type’ tends to make us shudder: just how efficient will the application be.  Is trouble being stored for the future?

For us, there’s now the ongoing debate: do we use one of the big three for a client, or do we use our own SiteSync framework: something we’ve developed, and used, for over a decade.  Something we can pare down to deliver just what the client needs, SQL optimised and cached.

We feel lucky to have this option, and the experience to make the choice.

CollectionsBase provides a seamless transformation of multiple metadata databases into a harmonised aggregated data index. Originally built for museums and archives, we [...]]]> Heritage Geospatial Update

We are pleased to announce we have completed the next version of our specialised hybrid text and geospatial data indexing engine, CollectionsBase.

CollectionsBase provides a seamless transformation of multiple metadata databases into a harmonised aggregated data index. Originally built for museums and archives, we can now fully support all forms of both text and geospatial data across all services: archives, museums, local history, library and Historic Environment Record.

We can connect to both static and live feeds via XML transforms (XSLT) of various heritage metadata collections management systems, live CSV and RSS formatted data and bespoke Access and SQL Server datasets.

As well as standard OpenSearch and OAI outputs, CollectionsBase now provides vector formats of GeoRSS, GeoJSON encoded WKT layers.  It also provides a rugged, fast Web Map Server featuring dynamic tile caching, clustering and load balancing.

We are able to build map interfaces over multiple projections, both Ordnance Survey and Historic Ordnance Survey, Aerial, Satellite and LIDAR layers, Bing and Google Earth products.  We can build with custom grid projections and special XYZ custom applications.

CollectionsBase fully supports integrated imaging within vector layers, as well as both Augmented Reality applications on iPhone and Android and has a custom supporting iPhone application.

Commercial Geospatial Update

The underlying, distributed, massively scaling search indexing is fast enough to real time index inbound geospatial encoded text information.  By providing hybridised natural language processing and relevancy scoring we can go way beyond search just on GIS : for example real time analysis of hyper local retail conversations over Twitter and Facebook to vastly extend retail dynamics monitoring or vehicle tracking applications.

Our Company brings together expertise from the private and voluntary sector to create new services within the care sector in particular support for family carers and those they [...]]]> We are pleased to announce that Orangeleaf Foundation has formed part of a Community Interest Company: Caring Enterprises CIC.  The Foundation provides not-for-profit digital consultancy to the CIC.

Our Company brings together expertise from the private and voluntary sector to create new services within the care sector in particular support for family carers and those they care for.

The company has two projects, the first underway is Respite Solutions, Holidays and Short Breaks for carers. Our new services launching in July 2011 will support carers in finding breaks on their own or with the person they care for. We can provide information on suitable accomodation, domicilliary care, short-term residential or nursing home care and equipment hire based on your requirements. If you find what you want then we can also assist with booking support so your holiday or short breaks is arranged without any hassle to you.

Our second project is bringing together our work in the digital heritage sector, with museums, archives and local history to a new audience; and we’ll be measuring the social impact of doing so.  More soon.