OREANDA-NEWS. September 5, 2011. i-Free has become a technical partner for a unique innovation project “Oranienbaum through the centuries,” owned by the Peterhof National Museum and Preserve and St. Petersburg State University, supported by the Russian World Foundation. “Oranienbaum through the centuries” is a pioneering smartphone application built on augmented reality technology. Functionally, this application has no world analogues. It has just been unveiled at a news conference in St. Petersburg.

i-Free is an experienced developer of high-tech mobile products and services. Development of cutting-edge smartphone apps is a key business area for i-Free. As a partner for “Oranienbaum through the centuries,” i-Free took care of the entire gamut of technical tasks that preceded and accompanied the development of a smartphone application based on iOS and Android.

“Innovation projects like this one have tremendous value for our country with its wealth of cultural heritage and its countless unique palaces, parks and other architectural landmarks,” said Elena Kalnitskaya, Director of the Peterhof National Museum and Preserve. “Projects like these are certain to educate young people about Russia’s historic cultural heritage and give a new impetus to the museum business.”

“Oranienbaum through the centuries” is an application that combines several cutting-edge technologies: Augmented Reality (AR), GPS navigation and QR code reading. It was i-Free engineers who designed the image detection, data compression and processing sequences, and prepared a huge portfolio of multimedia products for the new app.

With the new application, Oranienbaum visitors will be able to tour the architectural complex and park on their own using their smartphone as a mobile guide, and to see what Oranienbaum looked like in the centuries past.

The augmented reality mode turns a mere stroll into a time travel experience. The user will see buildings and park landscapes from different historical epochs on their smartphone screen. A cyber-ride down the famous Katalnaya Gorka ice-hill will demonstrate what people did for fun in the 18th century.

All the user needs to do to activate the augmented reality mode is look at his smartphone screen, pointing the phone at some object. An extra data stratum will then appear over the real image, fixed by the camera. The application will guide the visitor to those places they wish to see and provide information about the objects within the visitor’s field of vision.

An interactive map built into the app will show the visitor’s location, help the visitor move around effortlessly in the park and pick any route. The app’s easy, friendly interface is no problem to use even for a complete beginner.

But perhaps the best feature of the application is access to a unique historical archive covering the three-century history of Oranienbaum. The tour will be illustrated with old maps, original documents, drawings and photos. Visitors can hear the favorite music of the former estate proprietors, as well as poems and curious historical facts about Oranienbaum. The application provides detailed descriptions of all the landmarks lying on the tour route, and research articles on Oranienbaum.

“The numbers of smartphone owners are growing fast in Russia, so these kinds of applications will be increasingly popular with museum-goers,” said Georgy Zamyshliaev, who heads the Department of Investment Projects at i-Free. “It is a great honor for us to be part of the “Oranienbaum Through Centuries” project. We are glad to put our expertise and our competencies in innovative mobile products at the service of one of the most celebrated Russian museums.”

“Oranienbaum Through Centuries” is supported by smartphones based on iOS or Android, fitted with GPS modules, a compass, gyroscope, accelerometer and camera.

The application is free. It will become available on Android Market and App Store as of 9 September, right before Oranienbaum marks its 300th anniversary.