Flick Software Uses Intel^® PCA Processors to Make Museum Visits an Interactive Experience

Introduction

Anyone who has visited a museum knows that the experience can be completely different if you get a guided tour rather than simply looking around by yourself. While most museums don’t have the human resources to guide each visitor to the various exhibits, Flick Software, with the aid of Intel PCA processors and development tools, has come up with a solution that can enhance the experience of museum visitors—without the need for a human tour guide.

Flick Software, a leading Ottawa-based mobile software solution provider, has developed a portable interactive guide using Intel Centrino™ mobile technology that is being tested by museum specialists at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, in Gatineau, Quebec (the largest and most visited museum in Canada). Flick Software’s small interactive device with its Mobile Interactive Guide* allows users to learn about museum artifacts, find exhibits on a locator map, check IMAX schedules, and even play museum games, such as a treasure hunt or a trivia competition.

Flick optimized their code for Intel’s PCA processors used in handheld devices which enables rich information to be displayed to the user. To do so, Flick took advantage of the Intel Early Access Program to develop their application optimized for both the Intel® XScale® and Centrino™ mobile technology. The rugged handheld devices make use of 400MHz XScale processors, 64 MB of RAM, and an 802.11b or 802.11g wireless link. Flick foresees a market for the device and its applications in museums, zoos, and other facilities where a mobile information guide might be needed.

“We provide both products and services,” says Jason Flick, founder of Flick Software. “We’ve done a lot of different things on the service side using Intel tools, but by far where they’ve shined the best is in our Mobile Interactive Guide*. It’s our most intensive application. It’s got multimedia, it’s got to last a long time to extend battery life, and it’s got to be easy to use and very responsive. It’s got all of the attributes that absolutely require us to make sure that the application is well-tuned.”

The idea behind Flick’s Mobile Interactive Guide* and rugged PCA-based handheld device is that museums and other institutions can “loan” a PDA to visitors as a way to appeal to new and existing museum-goers. The PDA enhances the museum experience by guiding, informing, educating and entertaining, leading people to items of interest, expanding on various exhibits by running related multimedia audio and video clips, and having pop-ups at appropriate times indicating show start-times, or even cafeteria specials.

“We see it as a revolutionary step because, with the Intel PCA processor powering it, it’s a full-blown computer in your hands. As you know, with the horsepower and a license, you can do video, interactive content, and location-based context information. We’ve leveraged all of those things into one product and audio and video are only just a small part of what it can do,” says Flick.

What is Intel¨ Personal Internet Client Architecture (PCA)?

The increasing availability of mobile content and the emergence of worldwide wireless data standards are driving the development of a new generation of data-enabled wireless devices for businesses and individuals. To address this need, Intel has defined an architectural framework, the Intel¨ Personal Internet Client Architecture (Intel¨ PCA) that promotes the rapid development and deployment of next-generation wireless devices, applications, and services. It streamlines the development process by enabling software and hardware developers to design to an open environment for true application scalability. The rapid deployment of wireless products with new and compelling applications will be the key to making wireless data networks successful.

Reference Software

The Intel¨ PCA reference software resides entirely in on-chip flash memory. It implements the physical layer and protocol layers 1, 2, and 3 required for full phase 2+ GSM/GPRS Class 12 functionality. Intel provides the physical layer and protocol layer 1; the protocol layers 2 and 3 are available from TTPCom*, a leader in GSM/GPRS software development. Alternatively, developers can opt to utilize their own layer 2/3 solution. Other software available includes a generic MMI, SIM application toolkit, SMS, EMS, MMS, HSCSD, USB client, network-based Position Location, and multiple vocoders (FR, EFR, HR and AMR). Support is also provided for voice recognition, voice record/playback, battery charging, Bluetooth, G3 Fax, WAP, MP3 decoder, MPEG-4 decoder, and dual SIM interface. The software development environment also includes an optimized C/C++ compiler for the Intel XScale core.

The Right Tools for the Job

As a member of the Intel Early Access Program, Flick Software was provided with key technologies for optimizing the Mobile Interactive Guide* for use on handheld devices running Intel XScale and Intel Centrino mobile technology. The program also provided the company with access to a range of scalable marketing programs to promote its products and services to customers.

“Microsoft .NET* and the Intel C++ compiler along with the Intel VTune™ Performance Analyzer were key development tools for us,” Flick says. “One of the key things we figured out about six months into the project is that had to be optimized for battery life, responsiveness, and the ability to play videos and audio in full screen on demand. The first iteration wasn’t where we wanted it to be. So, we spoke to Intel and they were able to help us with tools and even help us with some hardware to get some of these rugged devices. The IPP (Intel Performance Primitive) libraries are fabulous. We were able to take out some of the lag and some of the third-party tools that weren’t optimized. That made a big difference in terms of responsiveness. Those types of things will be a big asset to us.” The development for Flick Software’s rugged PCA-based handheld device was done in C++ and C#. “ A lot of the interface was done in C# because of the layout abilities and VTune was still able to identify hot spots,” Flick says.

The Intel VTune Performance Analyzer helps locate and remove performance bottlenecks. VTune provides both a graphical and command line interface on Windows* platforms, optional Visual Studio* .NET integration, and remote support for Linux* IA-32 and Intel Itanium® processor-based applications. Key features include sampling capability, call graph capability, counter monitor, and an enhanced Intel Tuning Assistant. It also supports sampling of Intel PXA25x/26x processor-based applications, which were important for Flick Software’s products.

The Intel Performance Libraries provide developers with a low-cost and time-saving solution for developing high-performance applications that take advantage of the latest Intel processors. The Integrated Performance Primitives (IPP) library is composed of multimedia, signal processing, audio, video, image-processing functions—and more.

Intel was not Flick’s only partner. The company also relied on Ottawa-based content management company TrueContext in delivering their Mobile Interactive Guide*. “TrueContext has a product that delivers a wireless content management solution for mobile devices,” Flick says. “So, they have all the hooks to package data and determine what device should be configured for which setting. If we find out, for instance, that one video is very hot, we’ll make sure that it’s always preloaded on the PDAs to reduce the stress on the wireless network. TrueContext has all of those capabilities built into its product. They’re the back end for this, which is a great asset. Whether we work with a wireless link or not, all the functionality is there.”

The Future

Flick Software’s rugged, XScale-based PDA solutions aren’t limited to guided tours of museums. In addition to public attractions like museums and zoos, the Mobile Interactive Guide* offers customers the opportunity to enhance their own customers’ experience, learn more about their visitors through a wide range of data collection features, deploy revenue-generating services, and position themselves as early adopters of mobile technologies. Flick also plans to expand beyond proprietary devices. “In terms of the final device, it’ll be up to the museums to decide for themselves. In terms of which hardware platform they use, it may vary, the final goal being that people just walk in with their Intel device and discover the wireless hotspot and application, and use it on any Centrino mobile technology or XScale technology device.”