FORT KNOX, Ky. (AP) — In a few quick steps, the Booz Allen Hamilton associate has tapped into a mobile application designed specifically for the General George Patton Museum of Leadership. He then scans an icon featuring Patton’s image, affixed to the case, with the phone’s camera.
Within seconds, a three-dimensional image of a pistol appears on the phone’s screen. Pressing against the digital image with his finger, Miller moves the pistol around in different directions to illustrate the benefits of augmented reality and how this technology has gradually permeated the Patton Museum.
Alongside its mission to tell stories of leadership through historical artifacts, the Patton Museum has deliberately built a sleeker and more modern facility in the ashes of the U.S. Army Armor School’s departure by taking advantage of the latest in Smartphone and wireless technology.
Through the usage of 3D imagery, video footage and interactive gaming systems, the museum hopes to immerse visitors into the history they are surrounded by — no longer relying solely on static displays to direct the narrative.
Like the digital pistol on the screen, the museum, which reopens Friday after extensive renovations, believes engaging its viewers in a multi-sensory, audiovisual bonanza offers the most payback. The term augmented reality was coined to describe the augmentation of a real world environment with computer-generated input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data.
Christopher Kolakowski, the museum’s director, said augmented reality is a new tool for the Army and has been ambitiously welcomed on post.
“No other museum in DoD (Department of Defense) is to the level of the Patton Museum,” he said. When asked if the technology was part of a growing trend, he said “we are ahead of the trend.”
The app can be downloaded by visitors when they visit the museum, which has no admission fee, and features hours of operation and a direct link to contact museum staff.
Most notably, however, it provides the channel in which those who explore the museum’s contents can tap into the digital extras contained therein.
Instead of simply strolling by an immobile display of a vehicle or artifacts used by Patton during a battle, Miller said, visitors can use their phones to link directly to video taken of the surly general.
Miller said videos of Patton can be unlocked at several exhibits and was mined from hours of footage collected by the museum. The videos have been pared into smaller bites to make it more digestible for visitors, Miller said.
“We don’t know how long people will stay at an exhibit,” he said.
Most of the video was shot silent, but in certain instances, the museum may augment an exhibit with sound to better set the scene. Kolakowski said directional speakers will be used to gain maximal impact from sounds, such as trucks idling or people shouting or cheering.
At Patton’s command truck, visitors can hover their Smartphones over the rear of the vehicle and see an image of Patton walking out or get their pictures taken with the Cadillac in which he suffered his fatal injuries. Images of Patton and other historical figures will be superimposed into the photograph when taken through the application.
While the technology is geared toward smartphones, the museum intends to mount iPads on kiosks in a couple sections of the facility for further exploration of the technology. For example, the museum has developed a 3-D model of Patton’s command truck, giving visitors a virtual tour of its cabin, where you can view Patton’s quarters and personal belongings, such as his toothbrush, phone and radio, Miller said.
Another aspect of the technology is the development of leadership exercises in which visitors can engage in different real-life scenarios by being placed in the boots of a commander who must make potentially life-altering decisions in the midst of war.
The games allow users to make final decisions and see the consequences of their decisions played out as they lead others, Miller said.
Kolakowski said he believes these exercises will be an effective teaching tool for ROTC cadets or other future military leaders, giving them their first taste of responsibility.
“Cadets will have to do this on the field anyway live,” he said. “It’s better to learn these lessons in an environment like this instead of on a battlefield.”
Both Miller and Kolakowski said they want people to be moved by the museum to the point where they strike up conversations with strangers during tours and tell their friends and family about the experience when they leave. One way to do that, Kolakowski said, is using the communication methods and technological advances popular in today’s society to engage an audience.
“They communicate this way and we have to be able to reach them through this medium,” he said.
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Information from: The News-Enterprise, http://www.thenewsenterprise.com
