CUSPIS : la géolocalisation touristique par satellites
Je vous propose un interview de Giorgos Kouvas, responsable du projet CUSPIS.
Un projet très ambitieux de e-tourisme sur mobile avec géolocalisation par les satellites Galileo et EGNOS
CUSPIS is the evolution of the M-Guide project, can you tell us more about this project and the goals
The M-Guide project developed and deployed a System for providing Location Based Information Services for the city of Athens (Greece) and Turku (Finland). Information Services are provided using 2G and 3G existing mobile technology. The Location of the user is identified either through mobile network operators with technologies like Cell-ID+ either through GPS.
The CUSPIS project can be considered as a step further in every aspect. The innovative and very simple idea behind this project is to combine the Cultural Assets infrastructure with another important European service infrastructure: Galileo and EGNOS. Furthermore, key technologies for authentication, deployment of secure infomobility platforms, (digital) asset and content management, digital watermarking and precise navigation will be exploited in the foreseen demonstrator in key areas of Europe.
The CUSPIS project aims to target Cultural Asset sector with the establishment of User Community groups, fostering the design and implementation of selected applications with a strong accent on validation of results, economical viability of systems and its dissemination.
We (CUSPIS Consortium) believe that Galileo represents a unique opportunity to implement both institutional and commercial applications for the Cultural Assets protection, valorisation and fruition with value-for-money solutions under the appropriate regulation umbrella. In this context the benefits coming from the Galileo and EGNOS "added values" and "differentiators", with respect to solution based on GPS, are maximised together with the valuable role that GSA and GOC can play for this User Community. It has to be emphasized that this sector includes highly specialized applications (like Cultural Asset Management) and more commercial ones (in the Tourism related market) that appear to be very appealing as far as the market size is concerned: this proposal addresses innovative applications enabled by the unique GALILEO characteristics, features and performances.
Within the frames of the project, two major applications (demonstrators) will be developed. Namely:
1. A Cultural Asset Management system: that will allow to secure track, real time monitor and authentication (by the usage of the proof-of-concept "plug-in" devoted to the geo-time Authentication) of a tangible Cultural Asset while is moved from a location to another;
2. A Cultural Asset Fruition system: that will allow a tourist to organise a cultural tour, to be safely assisted in the tour, to be tracked and monitored in case of emergency, to help and promote the fruition of the relevant assets in a Cultural (open) location;
The CUSPIS project is co-funded by the Galileo Joint Undertaking.
The project started on July 2006 and its duration is 18 months.
The total budget is 2,5 M Euros.
The CUSPIS consortium consists of:
• NEXT Ingegneria dei Sistemi S.p.A. (Coordinator, IT)
• EXODUS SA (GR),
• ARCUS SpA (IT)
• Vodafone GR,
• Provincia di Roma (Assessorato Beni Culturali)
• Municipality of Athens,
• PriceWaterHouse Cooper,
• Centrica, University of Rome-Tor Vergata,
• University of L'Aquila,
• MICC Media Integration and Communication Center,
• OPD Opificio Pietre Dure,
• CSP Comitato Sicurezza Patrimonio Artistico,
• Studio Lombardi,
• Pagnanelli Risk Solutions and the
• Multimedia Team Ltd.
For more information about the project please visit: www.cuspis-project.info
Which are your end customer for this project: Tourisme board and then tourist ?
The project addresses the Cultural Assets User Community as a whole. This community is wide in term of concerned people, including both public and private sides, from the generic citizens visiting a museum to the high specialized researchers passing from a structured downstream value chain involving small and medium enterprises, local administrations, national authorities, international organizations, etc…
The Cultural User Community is made of:
• Cultural assets management entities, like museums, public and private;
• Regions and Local authorities who want to enhance the service offered to visitors;
• Art collectionists who want to protect their patrimony;
• Archaeology surveyors and site managers for the opportunities given by GNSS to land positioning;
• Universities and research companies
• Private transportation companies which want to offer a more secure service;
• Insurance companies who want to be guaranteed regarding the position of the insured asset;
• The visitors to archaeological sites, monuments and museums or art exhibition;
It is clear that the user community in the cultural asset management is spread all over Europe and it is formed by all the cultural and artistic networks that has been strengthen during recent years (i.e. between Museums). Moreover, interests and goals of this User Community could be safeguarded also in regard to the rest of the world since GNSS technology can locate objects and any tagged or targeted item on the earth surface (i.e. transportation towards no-EU countries).
Stakeholders for this project are cross industry and are represented by:
• Government, Agencies and Central State administration that are interested in protecting and developing one of the most important asset of the Country, also in economic terms;
• Regional and local authorities that want to protect and give value to their cultural and assets and to attract visitors;
• Universities to support in field research (i.e. archaeology);
• Industrial and trade association: like transportation companies that are interested in protecting the means of transport and the transported item against many risks;
• Insurance companies, who request growing level of security in order to produce insurance services to cultural and artistic assets;
• Cultural value chain entities from producers to distributors
• Other associations like citizens' and consumers', who are the final fruitors of many cultural events.
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Giorgos Kouvas has obtained a Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and an MSc in Business Administration (MBA) from the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB). He has been working during the period 1998-2001 in "Labrakis Press S.A." first as a programmer and later on as Project Manager, heading object oriented development. He has been with EXODUS SA (www.exodus.gr) since 2001 and he is currently working as a Project Manager in the Research and Development (R&D) Department. His fields of expertise include B2B and B2C Internet solutions, Workflow Management Systems, Telecomunication networks and applications, Location Based Services and mobile portals. He has been involved in and co-ordinated several EC research projects (mGuide, Whyless.com, Crosswork, CUSPIS etc). Furthermore he is active in a large number of national R&D projects. He has published many scientific papers in international journals and conference proceedings. Mr. Kouvas is a member of the Greek Technical Chamber and the Greek Computer Society.
Giorgos Kouvas, Dipl. EEng/CS (MBA)
EXODUS SA
FARANTANTON 6-10,
11527 Athens, Greece
e-mail: gkou@exodus.gr
Tel: +30 210-7450300
Fax: +30 210-7450399
skype me at: gkouvas