Digital Archaeological Museum – Artifact Tracking and Visitor Experience Application from Excavation to Exhibition
During my school years, I began developing my skills by creating Android applications and submitting some of my projects to competitions to promote my applications. In university courses, we tried to pass certain courses by doing projects instead of exams. This sometimes allowed us to pass term courses in groups and sometimes individually. The Digital Archaeological Museum application was one of these, designed as a course project and developed by two people. For the first time, an Android project recorded transactions in a database by sending HTTP requests.
The mobile part of the application consists of 3 parts; a mobile application used by archaeologists, a visitor mobile application used by museum visitors, and a web management panel application to monitor the management of recorded excavations.
The aim of the Digital Archaeological Museum is to accurately track the process of artifacts found during excavations from the moment they are found to the moment they are exhibited in the museum, and to convert them into a digital environment.
Mobile Application - For Excavation Sites Users
In the first part of the application, the excavation site is shared with the archaeologists in advance, along with the dates and timeframes for the excavation. Those interested in participating can apply, and after the necessary permissions and approvals are granted by the administration, the archaeologist can participate in the excavation. To log in through the application, the archaeologist's username and surname, along with their ID card (with NFC), are identified. Once identified, archaeologists can log in to the application with their username and password or the NFC card provided to them. Artifacts found at the excavation sites are recorded in the application. These artifacts are then sent to the administration for further analysis. They are recorded by entering relevant images, the latitude and longitude of the artifacts (GPS location), and a summary of the artifacts. The recorded artifacts are displayed through the administration panel, and those worthy of display in a museum or exhibition are further elaborated and made ready for presentation to visitors.
To ensure complete tracking of the artifacts found here, it is planned to affix RFID tags to them without damaging them. The artifact's excavation history and display will be tracked using the primary key on the RFID tag. One of the reasons for recording latitude and longitude information is to identify connections between artifacts and to provide direct location information by displaying the artifact's location when displayed to visitors.
Mobile App - For Visitors
In the second part of the application, the excavations shared by archaeologists are examined by relevant individuals, and if the artifact is genuine, it is recorded in the system. It is available for visitors to the exhibition areas through the application we developed. The application features a simple interface. By scanning the QR code located next to the artifact displayed in the exhibition area, more detailed information about the artifact is displayed on the application. One of the aims of this application is to allow users to read the artifact while visiting or listen to it aloud within the application, rather than waiting and reading in front of it. If there is no problem with visiting the artifact's location, a road map is shared with everyone using the location information. One of the biggest advantages of QR codes is that if an error is made while sharing information about the artifact, or if the artifact is later found to be incorrect, simply change the information embedded in the QR code, without having to change it.
By listening to the artwork's information in audio format, it acts as a guide for each visitor (while touring the museum and exhibition space). The artwork's information is translated into the desired language, depending on the device's language.
Website - Management Unit
In the third section of the application, a management panel has been prepared for experts in the field. This panel allows archaeologists to create user definitions, provide more detailed information about artifacts found by archaeologists, revisit the location of the artifact and connect it to other artifacts if necessary, and create a QR Code for display if the artifact is worthy of display. The management panel is open to development and can be adapted for additional features.
After explaining the application's objectives, it's worth explaining a bit about its technology. As a mobile application, it only runs on Android. It's written in the Java programming language. HTTP requests are handled through Retrofit. Data transfer is provided through Restful services. The administration panel is built using PHP. For more detailed information about the application or to ask any questions, please contact us.
