State of the Art Analysis - Audio Guides

Audio guides are portable devices which the user can listen to through headphones. They are often designed to provide audio and information with as little interactive input as possible, making them easy to use for most target groups. Despite of this, many people tend to avoid audio guides since they don’t believe themselves “techsavvy” enough to use them. This attitude is one of the problems regarding the devices, and is probably best solved with better instructions and a simple design.

At the Swedish Army Museum (Armémuseum), audio guides are frequently used in the exhibition. The device has a simple design with only one stop button and one button controlling the volume. Around the exhibition there are small signs next to each showcase. When holding your guide against these signs, it will blink after a second (instant feedback!) and the corresponding audioscore starts to play. This allows the user to walk around in their own pace, watching the objects and be sure that the information is delivered accordingly. The audio guides also plays in different languages, which is suitable for tourists when a guide speaking the preferred language is not available. 

Another problem with audio guides is of course that some people simply prefers listening to an actual human standing in front of them, and the experience may not feel as vivid when it is just you and a piece of technology in your hand. This however, depends entirely on the content: an audio guide that delivers stories from different “characters” and sound which sets the mood and makes you feel like you are actually “there”, may beat an actual guide who recites facts as he/she has done it a million times before. 

 On the flip side, a guide who dresses and acts out the information in a way that engages the crowd can make even the dullest exhibition worth visiting. That being said, there are pros and cons with both types of guides, and one does not have to replace the other. Rather, it is a matter of complementation. Although, when binaural (directed) sound is becoming widespread on the market, audio guides will most likely take the museum experience to a whole new level.