How do we make people interact technologically in a museum experience? Is it possible, for example, to feel in a more synesthetic way the contact with a cultural heritage such as
Carnival? How to experience all this within the walls of a museum? The answer to these questions has become a challenge and also a project that mixes culture, art and technology in
the capital of Pernambuco. 

To bring this experience to a wide audience, three digital platforms were developed: Sobe Frevo, Roteiro Afetivo and Batuta. The initiative is the result of an unprecedented partnership between IBM and SoftexRecife - entity focused on the improvement of the Brazilian software that coordinated the voluntary work of 15 local technology companies and an ICT. And the place chosen to house the development and prototyping of the experience was Paço do Frevo. 

All the platforms use applications from the Watson (IBM) cognitive system, which stands out for its ability to apprehend on a large scale, to make associations following set purposes and even to produce interactions with humans in a natural way. In order to generate new experiences in the museum, the platforms focus their activities on the analysis of unstructured information (such as social media, videos, etc.), the prediction of personality characteristics,the classification of visual content and on dialogue tools. 

According to the president of SoftexRecife, Alcides Pires, this initiative came to strengthen the bonds between the population and frevo - symbol of the culture of Pernambuco -, besides generating more integration within the territory of the Digital Port and gains that surpass the walls of the cultural equipment. "Developing this case together is allowing us to transform knowledge into benefits for society, which will be impacted both as a user of technology and through the economy through the generation of new businesses," he said, noting that the project helped spread a new technology with many future perspectives in the ICT center. 

Of the three solutions created, one is aimed at improving the experience of the individual visitor, that person who goes only to Paço do Frevo. It is Roteiro Afetivo that personalizes the visit inside the museum. To embark on this journey, you need to download the app on your tablet or smartphone. When activated, the solution displays a map and 12 illustrations that will be used to identify the visitor profile. He will choose five of these images and will then be invited to a customized tour in the center. 

In the visit, people will interact with a virtual assistant in three particular environments. Freviana, as it was called, leads to the experiences by asking questions to the public and presenting information. The dialogue is established through voice and text. At the end of the tour, the participants are also granted a virtual banner, according to their profile and experiences. A souvenir to be shared on social media. 

The Sobe Frevo solution focuses on reproducing the feeling of being inside a frevo parade: people are close to each other, there is little space, music and lots of joy. The place chosen for that was the elevator. There, the ambiance received a colorful lighting scheme and was equipped with sensors and a camera. This hardware, which uses the Watson cognitive system, is responsible for capturing the group's image, recognizing the profile of people, and generating appropriate visual and sound content.

This means that the public can now travel between floors to the sound of frenzied street frevo, interview excerpts, the melodic frevo-canção, the noise that comes from the streets during Carnival, among others. The choice of repertoire is up to the reading that the application makes of the public. 

Besides the audio, the colors exposed by the lighting system will also be related to the profile
of the group present in the elevator. An exception is made for some hymns of traditional associations, such as the Homem da Meia Noite, when the light presented is green and white.
It is expected that the time between image capture and the beginning of the experiment does not exceed four seconds. 

Finally, Batuta seeks to attract people and encourage them to go to the cultural center to interact with the first frevo composed with the use of artificial intelligence. Through actions on the internet, the public is led to access the solution’s website and answer a quiz. The platform also offers the user the experience of analyzing their profile through social media and discovering a frevo that matches their personality. At the end, the participant is invited to visit a special room of the Paço do Frevo, where he can interact with a "technological" frevo as he moves musical objects reproduced in wood.

In this first moment, therefore, we will be presenting the first experiences, a kind of prototype, which shall be further deepened as a product of new partnerships after the improvement of
ideas. 

About SoftexRecife

The Center for Excellence in Software Technology of Recife (SoftexRecife) is a non-profit civil association created in 1994. The entity has its origin linked to the Softex2000 Program and was the sixth nucleus, of the 28 existing ones, to be created in the country. Since 2006, it has been recognized as a Civil Society Organization of Public Interest (OSCIP) and acts as an executor of ICT policies to the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication.