The Panasonic Light ID app was developed to help Panasonic showcase their Light ID technology at the ICOM Milano 2016 Museum Conference.
With Panasonic’s Light ID technology information is transmitted by modulating the light in LEDs. When the user points their camera at the light the app can use this information to determine which exhibit the camera is pointing at and then display relevant content about it.
As well as the standard Situate features, this project demonstrated two key aspects of Situate:
- it allowed Japanese and English versions of the app to be built quickly.
- it shows how the Situate platform can be used as the basis with which to create an app with non-standard features. So, if you need a location-based app that includes particular functionality not included as standard, Situate would be an excellent choice.
Light ID technology works differently to the other triggers we use in Situate. iBeacons and GPS are more passive and can automatically prompt the user with new content. Light ID on the other hand requires a more proactive interaction from the user.
Light ID could work alongside iBeacons and GPS. For example using iBeacons to detect when a user has entered a particular gallery, and then using Light ID to provide information on individual exhibits in the gallery. Light ID can differentiate between objects that are close together (even less than 0.5m).