OVERVIEW:
Quincy Valley Historical Society & Museum is using Augmented Reality technology from WORKSHOP 3D to enhance the displays in our new exhibits. Scan any of the silhouette images that you see in the museum to meet your narrator and learn more about what’s on display.
Or turn your phone sideways, and engage with annotated panoramic views of your surroundings, the past, or the view from a hundred feet above the Museum grounds.
Both of these content types may change over time, as additional narrators and panoramas are added by student groups or local clubs.
A menu of additional information (like this screen) is available by either tapping the menu button in the upper right, or by swiping down from the top of the screen. To dismiss this screen, tap the menu button again.
Occasionally, exhibit-related information will pop up from the bottom or side of the screen to supplement the content. Simply swipe these texts away to dismiss them and make more room for the visual content.
TALKING SILHOUETTES:
With your device held vertically (portrait orientation), point your camera at the silhouette images that you will find throughout the museum. When the app recognizes the image, your narrator, an important figure in the history of the Quincy Valley or other person of interest, will appear and tell you more about the exhibit you are looking at. If you need to light up the picture so that the camera can see it, press the light icon in the upper left corner of your screen.
These narrations have been created to accompany the exhibits by local students and others, who wrote the narrations, portrayed your narrators, and produced the videos that are brought to life in this app.
If you want to take a picture of your narrator, press the shutter button located in the center of the lower portion of the screen.
ANNOTATED PANORAMAS:
When you hold your device horizontally (landscape orientation), you have access to a number of panoramic views created by local students. Initially, this takes the form of labels and other annotations that appear as you look through your camera. As you turn in various directions, these annotations point out historic places and events.
Additional panoramas are available from a menu that you can access by tapping the icon in the upper right corner of the screen or by swiping in from the left side of the screen.
These may include collaged historic photos as well as photos taken from high in the sky by the local drone club. As with the through-the-lens views, you can look around in these panoramas simply by turning your phone in various directions.
TIPS:
WHERE DID IT GO? If the augmented content disappears, you may have lost contact with the target image. If you return to viewing the target image on your screen, the content should appear again, as well.
JITTERS? If the augmented content seems jittery, make sure you have good light on the target. In some cases, if you move the camera away from the target, the content will continue to persist for a while, but it may become unstable eventually. Get the target back on your screen to re-orient and stabilize the content.
TOO DARK? If your lighting isn’t good enough to see the target, use the light icon in the upper left or your screen to turn on your flash to see the target. The icon is only present if you actually have a light on your device.
NO TARGET? If you don’t have any targets for viewing the Augmented Reality, you can print them out from the farmAR Targets link on this page, or get a friend to download the app and display the targets on their screen by using the Preview Targets item on the pull-down menu. You should be able to see them from there!