“Real Change Comes from Within!”: Towards a Symbiosis of Human and Digital Guides in the Museum

Extensive research on mobile guides for museums has explored the potential of technology to offer some of the services that have been traditionally provided by human guides, including guiding visitors in the museum space, providing information about the exhibits, and using more advanced interpretative approaches such as digital storytelling and gamified techniques. However, the majority of these approaches either ignores or tries to substitute entirely the role of the human guide. In this work, we present a user study with 10 experienced tour guides, currently working in the museum of modern art of the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation. Based on a three-phase procedure, the study is designed to empower professionals into envisaging their work in symbiosis with current technological developments. First, we attempt to identify existing challenges guides face and to capture their tacit knowledge in addressing emerging problems in guided tours. In the second and third stage, through a reflective and productive discussion, we employ a set of contemporary innovative digital applications as a starting point to elicit their views on their role in an envisaged symbiotic future of human-led hybrid digital experiences.

Performance analysis of multi-level high voltage direct current converter

<p class="Abstract">The conventional three-phase alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) converter can be modified using two isolated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) as by-pass switches connected to tapping points on the secondary side of the transformer. This scheme yields a reduction in both harmonic contents and reactive volt-ampere absorption. This modified converter possibly eliminates the need for an on-load tap-changer on the converter transformer. The modified AC/DC converter is fully analyzed and implemented under balanced conditions using MATLAB-Simulink. The expressions of the output DC voltage are derived for different cases. The supply current harmonic contents, the reactive power absorption and the power factor have been compared for three schemes; the conventional bridge, the modified bridge using one by-pass IGBT valve and the modified bridge with two by-pass IGBT valves. </p>