RoadDream - GPS Audio Guide
Basic information
Project Title
RoadDream - GPS Audio Guide
Full project title
RoadDream - GPS Audio Guide. Connecting communities with immersive sound expeditions
Category
Regaining a sense of belonging
Project Description
The mundane view outside of your car or train window hides many fascinating stories. Imagine you can invite local charismatic people to travel alongside with you: to hear their rumors, jokes, struggles, to learn about the history. To taste their contemporary and traditional music. Their stories will make you feel like you know the place, will make you feel local.
We have designed, probably, the best way to make it possible with just a few clicks. And we want to scale up this innovation.
We have designed, probably, the best way to make it possible with just a few clicks. And we want to scale up this innovation.
Geographical Scope
Regional
Project Region
Kyiv region (including de-occupied territories) , Ukraine
Urban or rural issues
It addresses urban-rural linkages
Physical or other transformations
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
EU Programme or fund
No
Description of the project
Summary
The project utilizes the innovative technologies to enhance social cohesion and to boost inclusive domestic tourism development in Ukraine via GPS-localized storytelling audio tours.
With millions of Ukrainians forced out from their homes, we found a new inspiration in crafting the new edutainment format of local storytelling that will target socioeconomic gaps and a sense of belonging amplified by the war. By knowing stories and people, listeners get socialized with those communities without leaving the transport.
GPS-guided in-city audio walks have existed for years now. The guide with a mic on a tourist bus who tells some facts - even longer. We decided to re-invent the two: making guides interesting and GPS platforms matching the needs of the car/train travelers with poor connectivity.
The methodology we developed though would not only fit the context of contemporary Ukraine, but any society regardless of its development or challenges.
With storytelling we can interconnect the various perspectives, disciplines and generations to strengthen the sense of belonging and respect toward local cultures.
We target every teenager and adult with a smartphone and a trauma from the way History has been taught in Ukraine - the criteria which include almost every Ukrainian we know of. We want to make History fun to listen to and the perspectives of others – to matter. We aim to ignite travelers’ curiosity, so the they look for more: be it an additional reading after the arrival at the final point, or a decision to drive off the main road and explore that village they have never noticed before.
We also wanted to address the inequalities. With the stories we can make local Geography teacher receive the same level of publicity as the luxury resort with a huge billboard by the road. This project is also a proof of concept - the local recreational resort financed the production of the audio tour as a part of their CSR that will remain open access for all.
With millions of Ukrainians forced out from their homes, we found a new inspiration in crafting the new edutainment format of local storytelling that will target socioeconomic gaps and a sense of belonging amplified by the war. By knowing stories and people, listeners get socialized with those communities without leaving the transport.
GPS-guided in-city audio walks have existed for years now. The guide with a mic on a tourist bus who tells some facts - even longer. We decided to re-invent the two: making guides interesting and GPS platforms matching the needs of the car/train travelers with poor connectivity.
The methodology we developed though would not only fit the context of contemporary Ukraine, but any society regardless of its development or challenges.
With storytelling we can interconnect the various perspectives, disciplines and generations to strengthen the sense of belonging and respect toward local cultures.
We target every teenager and adult with a smartphone and a trauma from the way History has been taught in Ukraine - the criteria which include almost every Ukrainian we know of. We want to make History fun to listen to and the perspectives of others – to matter. We aim to ignite travelers’ curiosity, so the they look for more: be it an additional reading after the arrival at the final point, or a decision to drive off the main road and explore that village they have never noticed before.
We also wanted to address the inequalities. With the stories we can make local Geography teacher receive the same level of publicity as the luxury resort with a huge billboard by the road. This project is also a proof of concept - the local recreational resort financed the production of the audio tour as a part of their CSR that will remain open access for all.
Key objectives for sustainability
By now we targeted exclusively businesses to test the sustainability model of the idea. With the first tour to the south of Kyiv, we asked a local Airbnb house that hosts only a few people each week (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/50737886), to send the tour link to their guests. Without any additional advertisement after 6 months of testing we have received over 500 “views” and positive feedback from the guests which said it amplified the overall excitement from the stay. The business wants to continue cooperation and keeps sharing feedback from their guests.
With the second tour we wanted to reach the next step and find a business that would cover the costs - a very challenging task for the country in war. The business that expressed their interest has a high social responsibility profile and is located in the village near the center of the battles in February-March 2022: https://www.booking.com/Share-Tm3Mdg. This tour to the north of Kyiv is currently being tested by their guests with a reach out to around 80 people a day, and 160 - starting in May 2024.
Now we want to build new and expand the existing two routes with new branches that will cover other local businesses. In the tours we do not promote them or make advertisements, instead we tell them about their history and what they have nearby - something that they seem to be very excited about. For the second tour to the north we plan to include the route to this charming business that was also under occupation in 2022: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ExjRFViKF52aU2739. This lavender field with a coffee shop is actually located along the ancient road from Kyiv to the town of Chornobyl and further north-west. Something that only few people know about.
We also discuss expanding the coverage along the train tracks - for this we need a national-scale company as a sponsor. Ukrainian Railways already expressed their interest in bringing such an offer for their passengers. That will hopefully happen in 2024.
With the second tour we wanted to reach the next step and find a business that would cover the costs - a very challenging task for the country in war. The business that expressed their interest has a high social responsibility profile and is located in the village near the center of the battles in February-March 2022: https://www.booking.com/Share-Tm3Mdg. This tour to the north of Kyiv is currently being tested by their guests with a reach out to around 80 people a day, and 160 - starting in May 2024.
Now we want to build new and expand the existing two routes with new branches that will cover other local businesses. In the tours we do not promote them or make advertisements, instead we tell them about their history and what they have nearby - something that they seem to be very excited about. For the second tour to the north we plan to include the route to this charming business that was also under occupation in 2022: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ExjRFViKF52aU2739. This lavender field with a coffee shop is actually located along the ancient road from Kyiv to the town of Chornobyl and further north-west. Something that only few people know about.
We also discuss expanding the coverage along the train tracks - for this we need a national-scale company as a sponsor. Ukrainian Railways already expressed their interest in bringing such an offer for their passengers. That will hopefully happen in 2024.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
This is the second reason why we wanted to work with businesses as a core so we have demanding clients that will push our own standards higher.
Although we work with the aesthetics and the quality of experience mostly in the audio domain, we also plan to rely more heavily on the visual component too to include those who can not travel for various reasons. We invited an art director of a Kyiv-based creative studio to design a movie-like poster for the tour to the North that should spark interest of potential listeners.
The sound is a key component of the experience we offer now. The second member of the team - Taras Halanevych has an extensive experience in sound design for movies, podcasts and electronic music. The other member - Oleksiy Moskalenko
The technical side is assured by the geniuses we work with behind the Spanish platform called “SonicMaps” and the British platform “ECHOES”. We continuously provide feedback so the platforms’ performance outside of a city remains top-notch.
Although we work with the aesthetics and the quality of experience mostly in the audio domain, we also plan to rely more heavily on the visual component too to include those who can not travel for various reasons. We invited an art director of a Kyiv-based creative studio to design a movie-like poster for the tour to the North that should spark interest of potential listeners.
The sound is a key component of the experience we offer now. The second member of the team - Taras Halanevych has an extensive experience in sound design for movies, podcasts and electronic music. The other member - Oleksiy Moskalenko
The technical side is assured by the geniuses we work with behind the Spanish platform called “SonicMaps” and the British platform “ECHOES”. We continuously provide feedback so the platforms’ performance outside of a city remains top-notch.
Key objectives for inclusion
Inclusive design principles are at the core of our values. With the next stages of product development we plan to address some of the key limitations currently present in this format of audio tours:
Most common barrier for inclusiveness in our case is the inability of many travelers to make the trip. We encountered people who either have no physical capacity to endure the trip, or reject the idea of returning to Ukraine due to the war-related trauma and safety concerns. Some have no financial means to make the journey. Thereby we would like to add visual components to the journeys so they can be experienced online.
Tours rely on a mix of senses: listening to the tour, observing the images from the window amplified by the power of imagination. Deafness and hearing loss is a key barrier to experience the audio component. Thereby we plan to add visual aids to ensure a similar level of engagement and connectedness.
Currently both tours target the more wealthy residents of Kyiv who travel to the countryside in the north and the south. In the next iterations will work on restructuring the content in a way that will not discriminate against people who start their journey from any other place including villages. Tours will not be city-centric.
The content can be accessed via smartphones with internet connection - privilege for many. We plan to address this issue by engaging public transport companies and encouraging them to broadcast the tours for the passengers (at least the visual component) and potential publish some of our local research findings in a printed format.
Most common barrier for inclusiveness in our case is the inability of many travelers to make the trip. We encountered people who either have no physical capacity to endure the trip, or reject the idea of returning to Ukraine due to the war-related trauma and safety concerns. Some have no financial means to make the journey. Thereby we would like to add visual components to the journeys so they can be experienced online.
Tours rely on a mix of senses: listening to the tour, observing the images from the window amplified by the power of imagination. Deafness and hearing loss is a key barrier to experience the audio component. Thereby we plan to add visual aids to ensure a similar level of engagement and connectedness.
Currently both tours target the more wealthy residents of Kyiv who travel to the countryside in the north and the south. In the next iterations will work on restructuring the content in a way that will not discriminate against people who start their journey from any other place including villages. Tours will not be city-centric.
The content can be accessed via smartphones with internet connection - privilege for many. We plan to address this issue by engaging public transport companies and encouraging them to broadcast the tours for the passengers (at least the visual component) and potential publish some of our local research findings in a printed format.
Results in relation to category
We have observed a number of positive outcomes from each of the two products we published so far:
- The people form local communities we engaged with during the research process and production, said it was inspirational to be participating in such project and to know people from outside find interest in their communities and their cultures;
- The local researchers,musicians, and scientists expressed their inspiration for having their music, writings and knowledge being financially rewarded;
- The travelers from the capital Kyiv showed strong and continuous interest in the history of the region they traveled to with their guide. They expressed appreciation for having a comfortable option to get to know the local people: their views, cultures and traditions;
- The hospitality businesses report their visitors highlight the ethnographic audio tours contribute to their overall positive travel experience.
We have no formal confirmation yet, that the consumer loyalty grew toward businesses that placed such an audio guide for their clients, however all of the secondary anecdotal evidence speaks of such an increase. The businesses we worked with were already doing well, having their premises fully booked few months in advance.
We are yet to prove that local secondary businesses also receive financial benefits from being located in the area of such a guide, however we are confident that next year will see a positive impact for them too.
- The people form local communities we engaged with during the research process and production, said it was inspirational to be participating in such project and to know people from outside find interest in their communities and their cultures;
- The local researchers,musicians, and scientists expressed their inspiration for having their music, writings and knowledge being financially rewarded;
- The travelers from the capital Kyiv showed strong and continuous interest in the history of the region they traveled to with their guide. They expressed appreciation for having a comfortable option to get to know the local people: their views, cultures and traditions;
- The hospitality businesses report their visitors highlight the ethnographic audio tours contribute to their overall positive travel experience.
We have no formal confirmation yet, that the consumer loyalty grew toward businesses that placed such an audio guide for their clients, however all of the secondary anecdotal evidence speaks of such an increase. The businesses we worked with were already doing well, having their premises fully booked few months in advance.
We are yet to prove that local secondary businesses also receive financial benefits from being located in the area of such a guide, however we are confident that next year will see a positive impact for them too.
How Citizens benefit
We chose to reach out to communities via various informal networks. For example, when starting to explore one town in the south of Kyiv we made 3 separate trips, collecting perspectives of people of different professional backgrounds, age, gender, place of origin. We talked to two local museum guides, a teacher, an active civil society member, local historian, local facebook group admin, restaurant waiters and a young musician. This has helped us to make sure we limit our biases and the influence of local politics or power dynamics.
While we did have to balance the perspective, we did find it inspiring how everyone involved was extremely excited for their town to be presented to the outsiders. We tried to balance the local patriotism and the pride with a more skeptical perspective of the outsiders so the content sounds legitimate and respectful for both sides. We also did peer-review of the content to ensure we minimized the possibility of hurting someone’s feelings. Although it was extremely difficult. As one man from Kozarovychi village told us: “You have only two minutes to tell about our village? Better not to start saying anything at all!”
We reimbursed the participation of the speakers whom we asked to make some preparation before the audio recording. We bought books from the local authors and got acquainted with their movies, paintings and sculptures.
We visited villages located further from the main road and introduced some of them to the travelers despite those villages can’t be seen from a window.
We invited some of the people who were born in those villages and turned out to be national celebrities. We respectfully placed their stories alongside the stories of the local residents.
While we did have to balance the perspective, we did find it inspiring how everyone involved was extremely excited for their town to be presented to the outsiders. We tried to balance the local patriotism and the pride with a more skeptical perspective of the outsiders so the content sounds legitimate and respectful for both sides. We also did peer-review of the content to ensure we minimized the possibility of hurting someone’s feelings. Although it was extremely difficult. As one man from Kozarovychi village told us: “You have only two minutes to tell about our village? Better not to start saying anything at all!”
We reimbursed the participation of the speakers whom we asked to make some preparation before the audio recording. We bought books from the local authors and got acquainted with their movies, paintings and sculptures.
We visited villages located further from the main road and introduced some of them to the travelers despite those villages can’t be seen from a window.
We invited some of the people who were born in those villages and turned out to be national celebrities. We respectfully placed their stories alongside the stories of the local residents.
Physical or other transformations
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Innovative character
There are no mainstream practices when it comes to GPS audio guides for the train and car passengers. We found only few such service providers: two for train rides (USA and UK) and three for car/bus passengers: USA, UK and Denmark. Most of those solutions can be placed in the domain of an “Education” and lack the “Entertainment” elements.
The closest to what we offer is the Danish platform called “Snelweg Sprookjes” - fairy tales for children.
We have a unique offering on the market:
- ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH: the only GPS-guided audio tours with local voices, music and various perspectives
- ART: Content has immersive sound components, and a movie-like story-telling
- CO-CREATION: listeners can add or correct the stories and expand the knowledge of the other listeners via feedback form
- FULL CONNECTEDNESS: stories are interconnected with music and are tested to accommodate people driving at different speeds - listeners won’t stay in silence
- CROSS-TOPIC: the name of the project “RoadDream” speaks of the story-telling method applied, where the content reminds a puzzle of different slightly connected stories. In one journey we tell about ancient fortifications, modern history, hidden attractions, archeological expeditions, street-art, rituals, traditional songs, stereotypes, SMEs, industrial sites, fun facts, nature, and some other visual artifacts.
Stories told from an unbiased perspective with a great sound design and music breaks proves to be competitive against the other entertainment platforms while on the road: Spotify, Youtube, podcasts, etc.
We already used AI to translate local speakers and plan to rely on emerging technologies much more in the upcoming products. Specifically - when translating tours to various languages.
Working on the most sophisticated European GPS-based audio technology platforms also ensures listeners have the best possible experience.
The closest to what we offer is the Danish platform called “Snelweg Sprookjes” - fairy tales for children.
We have a unique offering on the market:
- ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH: the only GPS-guided audio tours with local voices, music and various perspectives
- ART: Content has immersive sound components, and a movie-like story-telling
- CO-CREATION: listeners can add or correct the stories and expand the knowledge of the other listeners via feedback form
- FULL CONNECTEDNESS: stories are interconnected with music and are tested to accommodate people driving at different speeds - listeners won’t stay in silence
- CROSS-TOPIC: the name of the project “RoadDream” speaks of the story-telling method applied, where the content reminds a puzzle of different slightly connected stories. In one journey we tell about ancient fortifications, modern history, hidden attractions, archeological expeditions, street-art, rituals, traditional songs, stereotypes, SMEs, industrial sites, fun facts, nature, and some other visual artifacts.
Stories told from an unbiased perspective with a great sound design and music breaks proves to be competitive against the other entertainment platforms while on the road: Spotify, Youtube, podcasts, etc.
We already used AI to translate local speakers and plan to rely on emerging technologies much more in the upcoming products. Specifically - when translating tours to various languages.
Working on the most sophisticated European GPS-based audio technology platforms also ensures listeners have the best possible experience.
Disciplines/knowledge reflected
The project mainly combines social anthropology with its research toolkit, sound design and GPS-based audio technologies.
Social anthropology expects a researcher to possess an external mindset balanced by the deep immersion into the context and the language. The co-manager of the project, Oleksiy Moskalenko, has been living in different countries from 2008 to 2018, which helped him to appreciate what Ukrainian communities have to offer and to communicate those findings to the external audiences. Trained at the London School of Economics, he brings innovative code of conduct and toolkit to the research practice in Ukraine.
The other co-manager, Taras Halanevych brings in his top-notch expertise in sound design both as the creator of music, and as a sound editor. He manages Oy Sound System electronic music band and the sound production the most popular in Ukraine podcast on mental health, called “Prostymy slovamy” (“In simple words”). Trained as a philologist at Kyiv National University, Taras also brings in his network of experts in ethnography and music, which contributes to the quality of the product.
Social anthropology expects a researcher to possess an external mindset balanced by the deep immersion into the context and the language. The co-manager of the project, Oleksiy Moskalenko, has been living in different countries from 2008 to 2018, which helped him to appreciate what Ukrainian communities have to offer and to communicate those findings to the external audiences. Trained at the London School of Economics, he brings innovative code of conduct and toolkit to the research practice in Ukraine.
The other co-manager, Taras Halanevych brings in his top-notch expertise in sound design both as the creator of music, and as a sound editor. He manages Oy Sound System electronic music band and the sound production the most popular in Ukraine podcast on mental health, called “Prostymy slovamy” (“In simple words”). Trained as a philologist at Kyiv National University, Taras also brings in his network of experts in ethnography and music, which contributes to the quality of the product.
Methodology used
First, we make a context inquiry: via expeditions and desk research we develop a cultural “road profile” that would speak of the local cultures in a representative manner. We also use some of the design tools like “mood board” to construct a uniting narrative for each story line.
Second, we compose sound elements to amplify the story or the local physical context.
Finally, we map stories and sounds on a map and run multiple tests with different audiences. Making iterations after each feedback session. In our last product we made around 20 journeys for research and testing purposes.
In the next project we plan to rely more heavily on AI, distant research methods and distant voice recording to cover a wider range of road and train tracks at a much cheaper cost.
Second, we compose sound elements to amplify the story or the local physical context.
Finally, we map stories and sounds on a map and run multiple tests with different audiences. Making iterations after each feedback session. In our last product we made around 20 journeys for research and testing purposes.
In the next project we plan to rely more heavily on AI, distant research methods and distant voice recording to cover a wider range of road and train tracks at a much cheaper cost.
How stakeholders are engaged
We engaged stakeholders of all levels: on a local level we collected perspectives of the residents, recording voices of those who agreed to say something publicly. On a regional level we consulted with scientists and historians to record their perspectives and to distinguish what from the collected information were facts and what - legends and myths.
On a national level we engaged ethno musicians, artists (much of the local heritage has been lost), scientists and sound production professionals. On an international level we engaged the platforms from the UK and Spain to meet our expectations in terms of the performance with poor connectivity. We also rented a studio in Paris to record the voice of a speaker for the second tour: since the tour theme is about cinema and art, we invited a well-known movie director who was at that time participating in a festival in France.
On a national level we engaged ethno musicians, artists (much of the local heritage has been lost), scientists and sound production professionals. On an international level we engaged the platforms from the UK and Spain to meet our expectations in terms of the performance with poor connectivity. We also rented a studio in Paris to record the voice of a speaker for the second tour: since the tour theme is about cinema and art, we invited a well-known movie director who was at that time participating in a festival in France.
Global challenges
Increasingly fractioned world urges us to reconsider the sense of neighborhoods and to take a closer look at who we live near or with. Socializing and familiarizing yourself with the people around you barely knew before via similar audio guides, will inevitably contribute to the sense of connectedness and belonging. It will help to build more resilient and united communities in the wake of global security and climate change risks. It will help to re-evaluate the role of remote communities in one's life and build new intergroup ties.
In our tours we blend accents from different corners of the country and speakers’ perspectives: in the trip to the north in just 10 minutes, listeners hear a story from a Kyiv-born archeologist who is then followed by the narrator from the south-west of Ukraine, to then be followed by a story about business run by the founder from Crimea, which is then followed by the story about the artist from the west of Ukraine and the local merchant who also likes to draw paintings for fun. Our listeners find the unity in diversity.
In our tours we blend accents from different corners of the country and speakers’ perspectives: in the trip to the north in just 10 minutes, listeners hear a story from a Kyiv-born archeologist who is then followed by the narrator from the south-west of Ukraine, to then be followed by a story about business run by the founder from Crimea, which is then followed by the story about the artist from the west of Ukraine and the local merchant who also likes to draw paintings for fun. Our listeners find the unity in diversity.
Learning transferred to other parties
Currently the project is ready to be scaled up as it is for the major roads and train tracks globally. However, once in a few months we develop a cheaper and faster production methodology, the solution can be also applied for the smaller roads and more remote communities for a more inclusive participation and representation.
Keywords
Curiousity
Connectedness
Inclusiveness
Innovation
Reconstruction
