Case Studies

Examples of worldwide guidePORT installations

Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore (80 receivers)
Biodome, Montreal, Canada (300 receivers)
Biosphere, Berlin, USA (700 receivers)
Bridgestone Exhibition, Rome (200 receivers)
Chester Cathedral, Chester, UK (200 receivers)
Czars Exhibitions, Kansas International Museum, USA (1500 receivers)
El Rey: El Mundo Mayan en Vivo, Cancun, Mexico (400 receivers)
Ferarri Museum, Italy (50 receivers)
Jimmy Hendrix Museum, Seattle, USA (2000 receivers)
Kongresshaus, Berlin, Germany (900 receivers)
Lower Austrian State Museum, St Pölten, Austria (150 receivers)
Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany (400 receivers)

Museum in Docklands, London, UK (50 receivers)
Museum of London - 1920s: The Decade That Changed London, UK (170 receivers)
Museum of London - Women Talk, London, UK (40 receivers)
Museum of Modern Art, Thessaloniki, Greece (600 receivers)
Museum of Telecom, Portugal (80 receivers)
Mystery Park, Interlaken, Switzerland (9000 receivers)
National Children's Home Event, British Museum, London (50 receivers)
Peter and the Wolf Exhibition, Royal Festival Hall, London, UK (100 receivers)
Peter Pan Exhibition, Royal Festival Hall, London, UK (100 receivers)
Rain Forest Café, Galveston Island, USA (150 receivers)
Rain Forest House, Hanover, Germany (500 receivers)

Chester Cathedral Launches New Interactive Audio Tour With Orbital

Majestic landmark and major visitor attraction, Chester Cathedral has introduced an outstanding audio tour, which provides visitors with a new perspective on its 1,000-year history.

With the help of this sophisticated system, the Cathedral has enhanced its potential as an exciting new interactive heritage site.

The system designed and supplied by London-based sound specialists, Orbital, who have deployed the innovative guidePORT technology from Sennheiser to bring the Cathedral's history to life.

Carefully scripted narrative is delivered in digital clarity by professional actors and fused with sound effects and music - taking visitors on a journey, back in history with guidePORT leading the way.

Several tours are available with separate tours designed for adults and children. These run simultaneously making Chester Cathedral a fun and educational family experience.

Also ideal for tour groups, the guidePORT tours add enormous value, offering an alternative and exciting view of the Cathedral.

The tour lasts for approximately 20 minutes but guidePORT technology allows visitors to explore at their own pace and re-visit certain points of interest.

Chester's Nick Fry commented:
"Since the system was installed, the positive feedback received from adults and children as well as tour operators has been staggering. Our new audio guide is so easy to use, yet it's so sophisticated. It simply brings the Cathedral to life. It offers an intelligent, state-of-the-art alternative, which we know will be positively received ongoing."

Orbital transcribes Guide Dogs For The Blind exhibition with GuidePORT

Celebrating 75 years of guide dogs in the UK audio experts Orbital were appointed by London based Project Managers Populus UK to design and install the key integral audio guide element to The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association's new interactive exhibition called "Moving Forward Together".

Featuring as the main element of a year of celebrations, marking 75 years of guide dogs in the UK, the showcase exhibition was launched on the Isle of Dogs, Museum in Docklands by David Blunkett MP.

Through a range of three-dimensional, touch sensitive and audio features, the history of guide dogs is brought to life, along with up to date information on current campaigns and services provided by the charity Guide Dogs. "Moving Forward Together" will tour shopping centres, airports and public spaces throughout the year.

To enable blind and partially-sighted people to appreciate and understand every part of the exhibition, Howard Towl Managing Director of Populus UK collaborated with Orbital from the outset, ensuring that the system would translate the showcase, adding value and perfectly complementing its linear and graphic design.

Howard explained:
"I've worked with Orbital before and have integrated the guidePORT system with great success into many exhibits. We reviewed a range of options and for this project the system's unique and seamless qualities were the best way to allow accessibility for blind and partially sighted people".

Orbital's technical expertise and in-house facilities allowed the audio narrative to be maximised. Using their Pro-Tools equipped sound studio, the company produced and edited the audio commentary based on the initial script supplied by Populus.

As a highly emotive showcase, the voices of Sarah Williams and Peter Curtis were seamlessly integrated with sound FX to bring the exhibit to life aurally detailing colour, sights, texture and history through audio to the blind and partially sighted audience.

Unlike conventional audio guides, which rely on buttons to navigate, the guidePORT system is a fully automatic audio delivery system that uniquely detects where the user is standing in relation to the exhibits and automatically delivers the appropriate soundtrack.

Therefore, as visitors move around the "Moving Forward Together" exhibition, they hear the relevant sound FX and commentary automatically.

To further enhance its interactivity, Orbital supplied the exhibition's AV infrastructure of plasma screens, hard disc and computer playback as well as the push button interactive audio sources. These soundtracks are also fed into the audio guide headphones, precisely as the visitor enters the appropriate zone.

Steve Billington Director of Fundraising & Marketing (Guide Dogs) commented:
"Guide Dogs is delighted with the audio guide system, which allows blind and partially sighted people to appreciate and engage with the "Moving Forward Together" exhibition. The Orbital AV system complements a range of three-dimensional, touch sensitive exhibits to bring alive the information for those with sight loss".

Pictured is Paulette Odee with her guide dog, Briar