Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

e-souvenir appification: QoS web based media delivery for museum apps

  • Published:
Electronic Commerce Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The advent and recent proliferation of applications, created for smartphones and tablets, has altered the way users interact with information that is available online. Appification has been recently introduced to describe the rapidly widening shift from Web browsing to the usage of smartphone Apps for Internet-based information access and e-services consumption. In this paper, we present a solution that introduces e-souvenir (digital souvenir), extending the appification of e-shopping and shopping (non electronic) souvenirs while visiting cultural sights (e.g. museum, exhibitions etc). Instead of just buying a souvenir from a museum, the proposed smartphone App increases user involvement in order to personalize the App with his/her choices while sight-seeing and thus, such choices form an electronic souvenir: the e-souvenir. Additionally, our approach introduces intelligent Quality of Service (QoS) enabled features to the cultural smartphone App to improve user’s experience, while using it at cultural sights and points of interest. We facilitate efficient QoS-based media delivery to the e-souvenir solution in order to make it efficient to operate under heavy network traffic load and best-effort Internet-based connections. This is especially important to handle bottlenecks that occur, when tourists gather the most popular exhibits within the exhibition rooms, and when they visit the museum in groups (e.g. schools, cruises etc). The proposed solution is a tool for better understanding and appreciation of the cultural exhibits while being on site, and it serves as an electronic souvenir in the post-visit experience. We show how QoS assurance techniques enable efficient media delivery through smartphones to assist making the old fashioned shopping souvenirs to go online and become virtual. The proposed QoS enabled smartphone solution serves as a high quality digital souvenir after museums’ visits. This solution has already received warm feedback and encouraging comments by tourist and museum professionals.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Mantyjarvi, J., Paternò, F., Salvador, Z., & Santoro, C. (2006). Scan and tilt—towards natural interaction for mobile museum guides. MobileHCI ’06: Proceedings of the 8th conference on Human-computer interaction with mobile devices and services pp. 191–194, ACM.

  2. Goldman, K.H. (2011). Understanding adoption of mobile technology within museums. http://mobileappsformuseums.wordpress.com/2011/08/05/understanding-adoption-of-mobile-technology-within-museums/. Accessed online: 12/05/2013.

  3. Abowd, G. D., Atkeson, C. G., Hong, J., Long, S., Kooper, R., & Pinkerton, M. (1997). Cyberguide: A mobile context-aware tour guide. Wireless Networks, 3(5), 421–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Paschou, M., Sakkopoulos, E., Tsakalidis, A., Tzimas, G., & Viennas, E. (2012). An XML-based customizable model for multimedia applications for museums and exhibitions. Intelligent multimedia technologies for networking applications: Techniques and tools. IGI Global.

  5. Burnette A. (2011). So many devices, so many options: An introduction to cross-platform thinking. Mobileappsformuseums.wordpress.com/2011/08/05/so-many-devices-so-many-options-an-introduction-to-cross-platform-thinking/. Accessed online: 22/04/ 2013.

  6. Isaacson, A. McGuire, Sh., Sayre, S., & Wetterlund, K. (2011). Enhancing group tours with the iPad: A case study. http://mobileappsformuseums.wordpress.com/2011/08/05/enhancing-group-tours-with-the-ipad-a-case-study/.

  7. Kosner, A.W. Appification of everything, forbes, http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2012/12/16/forecast-2013-the-appification-of-everything-will-turn-the-web-into-an-app-o-verse/.

  8. Galati, A., Djemame, K., & Greenhalgh, C. (2013, March). MONGOOSE: A MObility sceNario generation tOOl for structured environments. In Proceedings of the 6th international ICST conference on simulation tools and techniques (pp. 299–306). ICST (Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering).

  9. Proctor, N. (2011). Mobile business models in a 2.0 Economy. mobileappsformuseums. wordpress.com/2011/07/18/mobile-business-models-in-a-2-0-economy-1/. Accessed online: 09/05/2013.

  10. Angry Birds: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/angry-birds/id343200656?mt=8. Accessed online: 10/05/2013.

  11. Isaacson, A., Krueger, L., McGuire, Sh., Sayre, S., & Wetterlund, K. (2012). Enhancing group tours with the iPad: 2012 updates and discoveries, http://mobileappsformuseums.wordpress.com, Accessed online: 13/04/2013.

  12. Rais, R. N. B., Turletti, T., & Obraczka, K. (2008). Coping with episodic connectivity in heterogeneous networks. In Proceedings of the 11th international symposium on modeling, analysis and simulation of wireless and mobile systems (pp. 211–219). ACM.

  13. Minelli, S. H., & de Polo, A. (2003). Innovative channels for digital images delivery: Multimedia messaging service technology enhancing picture messaging for mobile and Internet environments. IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics, 49(4), 841–845.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Rosaci, D., & Sarné, G. M. L. (2013). Recommending multimedia web services in a multi-device environment. Information Systems, 38(2), 198–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Khoukhi, L., & Cherkaoui, S. (2010). Intelligent QoS management for multimedia services support in wireless mobile ad hoc networks. Computer Networks, 54(10), 1692–1706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Agboma, F., & Liotta, A. (2012). Quality of experience management in mobile content delivery systems. Telecommunication Systems, 49(1), 85–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Kanellopoulos, D. (2011). Quality of Service in networks supporting cultural multimedia applications. Program: Electronic Library and Information Systems, 45(1), 50–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Yee-King, M., Confalonieri, R., De Jonge, D., Hazelden, K., Sierra, C., d’Inverno, M., Amgoud, L. & Osman, N. (2013, May). Multiuser museum interactives for shared cultural experiences: an agent-based approach. In Proceedings of the 2013 international conference on autonomous agents and multi-agent systems (pp. 917–924). International foundation for autonomous agents and multiagent systems.

  19. Koukopoulos, D., & Styliaras, G. (2013). Design of trustworthy smartphone-based multimedia services in cultural environments. Electronic Commerce Research, 13(2), 129–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Del Bimbo, A., Ferracani, A., & Pezzatini, D. (2013). Flarty: Recommending art routes using check-ins latent topics. In Proceedings of the 21st ACM international conference on multimedia (pp. 457–458). ACM.

  21. Sodhi, B., Agrawal, A., and Prabhakar, T. V. (2012). Appification of web applications: Architectural aspects. Communications in China workshops (ICCC), 1st IEEE international conference, pp. 15–17.

  22. Li, M., & Buchthal, S. (2012). Advisory services in the virtual world: An empowerment perspective. Electronic Commerce Research, 12(1), 53–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Falk, J., & Dierking, L. (2000). Learning from Museums: Visitor experiences and the making of meaning. Walnut Creek: Altamira Press—American Association for State and Local History.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Coenen, T., Mostmans, L., & Naessens, K. (2013). MuseUs: Case study of a pervasive cultural heritage serious game. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage (JOCCH), 6(2), 8.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Ambrose, T., & Paine, C. (1993). Museum basics (Heritage: Care-preservation-management), series heritage, care-preservation-management, Routledge, 3rd Edition.

  26. Koutsabasis, P., et al. (2008). A descriptive reference framework for the personalisation of e-business applications. Electronic Commerce Research, 8(3), 173–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Petrova, K., & Wang, B. (2011). Location-based services deployment and demand: A roadmap model. Electronic Commerce Research, 11(1), 5–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Chen, X., & Lian, S. (2011). Service and P2P based secure media sharing in mobile commerce environments. Electronic Commerce Research, 11(1), 91–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Styliaras, G. (2007). A web-based presentation framework for Museums. In Proceedings of the 2007 Euro American conference on Telematics and information systems (EATIS ’07), ACM, New York, NY, USA, Article 13, 8 pages.

  30. Allison, D., and Gwaltney, T. (1991), How people use electronic interactives: Information age—people, information & technology. In ICHIM ’91 Conf. Proceedings, Pittsburgh 14–16 October 1991, Pittsburgh, PA: Archives and Museum Informatics, ed. David Bearman, pp. 62–73.

  31. Zafirovic-Vukotic, M., & Niemegeers, I. G. (1992). Multimedia communication system: Upper layers in the OSI reference model. IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, 10(9), 1397–1402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Hakvoort, G. (2013). The immersive museum. In Proceedings of the 2013 ACM international conference on Interactive tabletops and surfaces (ITS ’13). ACM, New York, USA, 463–468.

  33. Louvre: http://www.louvre.fr/en/louvre-audio-guide-app, The louvre audio guide ppp. Accessed online: 10/04/2013.

  34. MoMA Mobile: http://www.moma.org/explore/mobile/, Accessed online: 10/04/2013.

  35. The Met collections: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/metropolitan-museum-new-york/id379246220?mt=8. Accessed online: 10/04/2013.

  36. Kapnas, G., Leonidis, A., Korozi, M., Ntoa, S., Margetis, G., & Stephanidis, C. (2013). A Museum guide application for deployment on user-owned mobile devices. In HCI International 2013-Posters’ Extended Abstracts (pp. 253–257). Berlin: Springer.

  37. Kabassi, K. Personalisation, Systems for Cultural Tourism,. (2013). Smart innovation. Systems and Technologies, 25, 101–111.

  38. Ardissono, L., Kuflik, T., Petrelli, D. (2012). Personalization in cultural heritage: The road travelled and the one ahead. User Modelling and User-Adapted Interaction 22 (1–2), pp. 73–99.

  39. Paschou, M., & Sakkopoulos, E. (2013). Intelligent mobile recommendations for exhibitions using indoor location services. In G. A. Tsihrintzis, M. Virvou, & L. Jain (Eds.), Multimedia services in intelligent environments—recommendation services vo. 4 (1st ed., pp. 19–38). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  40. Garofalakis, J., Panagis, Y., Sakkopoulos, E., & Tsakalidis, A. (2006). Contemporary web service discovery mechanisms. Journal of Web Engineering, 5(3), 265–290.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Makris, C., Panagis, Y., Sakkopoulos, E., & Tsakalidis, A. (2006). Efficient and adaptive discovery techniques of web services handling large data sets. Journal of Systems and Software, 79(4), 480–495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. pHash: Evan Klinger and David Starkweather. pHash The open source perceptual hash library. Accessed online: 13/05/2013.

  43. Zarmpou, T., Saprikis, V., Markos, A., & Vlachopoulou, M. (2012). Modeling users’ acceptance of mobile services. Electronic Commerce Research, 12(2), 225–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Papastamatiou, N., Alexandridis, T., Tsergoulas, K., Michopoulos, A., & Karadimas, N. V. (2010). Virtual reality applications with user interface for dynamic content development. In Proceedings of the 4th WSEAS international conference on computer engineering and applications.

  45. Chen, X., & Lian, S. (2011). Service and P2P based secure media sharing in mobile commerce environments. Electronic Commerce Research, 11(1), 91–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Frey, B. S., & Meier, S. (2006). The economics of museums. Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, 1, 1017–1047.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Siu, N. Y. M., Zhang, T. J. F., Dong, P., & Kwan, H. Y. (2013). New service bonds and customer value in customer relationship management: The case of museum visitors. Tourism Management, 36, 293–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Kent, T. (2010). The role of the museum shop in extending the visitor experience. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 15, 67–77.

    Google Scholar 

  49. Degwekar, S., Lam, H., & Su, S. Y. W. (2007). Constraint-based brokering for publishing and discovery of web services. Electronic Commerce Research, 7(1), 45–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Rosaci, D., & Sarné, G. M. L. (2013). Recommending multimedia web services in a multi-device environment. Information Systems, 38(2), 198–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Diamadopoulou, V., Makris, Ch., Panagis, Y., & Sakkopoulos, E. (2008). Techniques to support web service selection and consumption with QoS characteristics. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 31(2), 108–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Panagis, Y., Papakonstantinou, K., Sakkopoulos, E., & Tsakalidis, A. (2008). Web service workflow selection using system and network QoS constraints. International Journal of Web Engineering and Technology, 4(1), 114–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Sioutas, S., Sakkopoulos, E., Makris, Ch., Vassiliadis, B., Tsakalidis, A., & Triantafillou, P. (2009). Dynamic web service discovery architecture based on a novel peer based overlay network. Journal of Systems and Software, 82(5), 809–824.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Sakkopoulos, E., Adamopoulou, P., Tsakalidis, A., Sioutas, S., and Manolopoulos, Y. (2009). Personalized selection of web services for mobile environments: The m-scroutz solution. MEDES: 254–260.

  55. Tamassia, R. Priority Search Trees—Part I, computational Geometry C.S. 252, 1993.

  56. Tamassia, R. Priority Search Trees—Part II, computational Geometry C.S. 252, 1994.

  57. Kejlberg-Rasmussen C., Tao Y., Tsakalidis K., Tsichlas K. and Yoon J. I/O-Efficient planar range skyline and attrition priority queues. Proceedings of the 32nd ACM SIGMOD-SIGACT-SIGART symposium on principles of database systems (PODS’2013), New York, NY, 2013, pp. 103–114.

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research has been co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund—ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program “Education and Lifelong Learning” of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF)—Research Funding Program: Heracleitus II. Investing in knowledge society through the European Social Fund. We would like to thank the National Archaeological Museum of Athens (http://www.namuseum.gr) for the provision through its website of the digital content used in the research smartphone App presented.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Engineering & Informatics, School of Engineering, University of Patras, Rio Campus, 26500, Patras, Greece

    Evangelos Sakkopoulos, Mersini Paschou & Athanasios Tsakalidis

  2. Hellenic Open University, Patras, Greece

    Evangelos Sakkopoulos & Georgios Eftaxias

  3. Faculty of Law, iCourts, Centre of Excellence for International Courts, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Yannis Panagis

  4. Department of Mathematics, University of Patras, Patras, Greece

    Dimitris Kanellopoulos

Authors
  1. Evangelos Sakkopoulos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mersini Paschou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yannis Panagis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Dimitris Kanellopoulos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Georgios Eftaxias
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Athanasios Tsakalidis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Evangelos Sakkopoulos.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sakkopoulos, E., Paschou, M., Panagis, Y. et al. e-souvenir appification: QoS web based media delivery for museum apps. Electron Commer Res 15, 5–24 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-015-9174-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-015-9174-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation