Location-aware service delivers immersive audio experiences at historical sites

Liberty Guide taps GPS-enabled smartphones to deliver an immersive audio experience that brings historical attractions to life.

Hard on the heels of our story about Tagwhat’s “Great Stories at Places” mobile app comes word of another similar contender. Specifically targeting tourists, French Liberty Guide taps GPS-enabled smartphones to deliver an immersive audio experience that brings historical attractions to life. Traditional audio guides are one way to convey information about heritage sites, but they can be restrictive and overwhelming. Liberty Guide, on the other hand, offers a flexible and open alternative. Users simply indicate what topics they’re interested in and how much time they want to spend on a particular experience. They then don a phone-connected headset and Liberty Guide accompanies them as they progress through a particular site at their leisure, offering sound enhancements along the way that are triggered automatically via GPS. There’s no need to follow a specific route; instead, atmospheric and historically accurate sound effects such as the rattling of a horse-drawn carriage, the rustling of a passing nun’s habit or bees buzzing in a monastery garden play at just the right moments during the user’s stroll, thereby helping to bring history into the present. Soundtracks are professionally produced with the help of regional actors. The creation of multimedia agency Mazedia, Liberty Guide is now undergoing testing in the city of Le Mans and at the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud in Western France. There appears to be no stopping the recent run of location-aware innovations. Time to put something similar to work for your tech-savvy brand? Spotted by: Georgina Gensollen McDermott