2015 ITS Summer Internship Program

Challenge Currently, the University gives scheduled tours each week to interested students, alumni, and faculty or staff. However, these tours are predominantly in the morning or midday on campus which limits who is available to attend.

ARIS Tour App for UM Using ARIS software to create an interactive location-based tour app for the University of Michigan Campus

Some people may also like the idea of individual or self-paced tours rather than a structured group setting, where they would have the freedom to choose their tour rather than have it laid precisely out for them.

Solution We used ARIS software to develop an interactive tour app for areas of central campus. Early on, we met with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the tour experts on campus. They provided us with much of the information used in the app. We focused on creating tours that provide a differentiated service.

Screenshot 1: Opening conversation to chose a tour.

● Developing with ARIS allows for the creation of a product that easily gives users the ability to make decisions. Our tour app demonstrates this capability by providing users with two tour options, as well different paths within a tour. These options could be expanded to include additional tours, or allow for additional user decision making within each tour. ● Others within ITS are also looking in to augmented reality tools. Our effort serves as a working example of what the ARIS platform is currently capable of, while others are providing vision for augmented reality applications for the future of engaged learning on campus.

Screenshot 2: En Route to a tour stop.

The two tours we created are geared towards people with an interest in academic and student life and history and heritage of the university. Within the Academics and Student Life tour, visitors can choose if they are interested in science or humanities related fields and their tour is further customized through this choice. Using the ARIS software, we were able to create an application that allows for some choice in tours. Some limitations to our solution include: ARIS is currently only available for iOS devices, the app is ARIS branded (not specific to UM), currently, we only have Central Campus locations (not South Campus or North Campus), and tours still have a designated route.

Future Work

Try it out! Tours are available for use through the ARIS app in the iTunes store. Scan to download the app here:

Search for “University of Michigan Campus Tour” to give the tours a try!

Screenshot 3: Law Quad description upon arrival.

Screenshot 4: Completing the History and Heritage Quest.

Get in touch with the team: [email protected]