This article is from page 15 of the 2006-07-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
HOLIDAY-MAKERS and tourists travelling through Shannon Airport will be greeted with a taste of the Burren this month with the installation of the ‘Shannon Portal’ in the duty-free area of the airport.
The Shannon Portal, which is designed in the image of a Dolmen, is an interactive digital installation that will allow passengers create e-cards by uploading their holiday photographs and attaching a message, which then can be emailed for free to anywhere in the world.
Passengers who don’t own a digital camera can also interact with the portal thanks to a catalogue of photographs of Ireland which will be freely available. People can also upload photographs to an interactive gallery projected on a large display which can be browsed through movement.
The project, which has been put in place by the Interaction Design Centre at the University of Limerick and supported by Science Foundation Ireland, will study how interactive technology can enhance public places. A dedicated team led by Dr Luigina Ciolfiwill observe how passengers interact with the portal and the level of usage of the free emailing service.
Speaking from Shannon Airport Dr Ciolfisaid “we design all our technologies after studying in depth the people who will use them and their needs, and the places where they will be located. We studied Shannon airport for approximately a year in order to develop a rationale for this project.”
“It is our hope that as well as providing us with research information in relation to the public and their interaction with technology, the Portal will become an archive of journeys to and from Ireland and an entertaining and informative exhibit at Shannon Airport,” concluded Dr Ciolfi.
The design of the Dolmen which houses the installation, was sculpted by Marcin Ziemnicki and facilitated by the Sculpture Factory in Cork.