In front of the “Future City” digital sand table at the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, German architect Thomas was bending over to stare at the model. Suddenly, the audio guide in his hand made a “ding” sound and automatically played an English explanation: “This green community will be equipped with photovoltaic curtain walls. When it rains, the rainwater can be recycled and reused. It will be completed by 2030…” The traffic route animation also popped up on the screen. He couldn’t help but draw along the virtual subway line with his finger, muttering, “This transfer design is very reasonable.”

This planning exhibition hall, which houses the city’s century-old stories and future blueprints, receives over 800,000 visitors every year, one fifth of whom are foreigners. In the early years, it was extremely difficult for everyone to understand these plans: ordinary people would stare blankly at the signs of “floor area ratio” and “sponge city”, professionals would think the explanations were too shallow, and multiple teams would crowd together, with Chinese and English mixed up into a mess. It was not until the Yingmi intelligent tour guide system came in that these “futures” printed on blueprints and standing in sand tables finally had a “voice” that people could understand.

As a national high-tech enterprise that has been engaged in the production of interpretation equipment for 15 years, Yingmi has long passed the European CE and ROHS certifications. Previously, it has provided guided Tours for the overseas exhibition halls of Huawei and Ad, as well as the British Museum. This time, when customizing the system for the planning exhibition hall, the team stayed in the hall for 12 days. Following Director Chen, the administrator, it was noted that tourists stayed the longest in front of the digital sand table. Foreigners always asked, “What technology was used in this planning?” And the elderly liked to listen to “plain language” explanations – all these became the yardsticks for system optimization.

I.The “difficulty” of the Urban Planning Exhibition hall

The core of the Urban Planning exhibition hall is to enable everyone to understand “how the city has evolved from the past to the present and what it will become in the future”. However, planning this matter is too specialized. Moreover, the visitors have different needs, making it extremely difficult to explain clearly. Director Chen, the administrator, has been in charge of the Planning museum for six years. When talking about the past troubles, he always likes to flip through the guestbook: “We had the best drawings, but we couldn’t find a way for everyone to understand them.”

1. Professional term “choke point” : The elderly can’t understand it, and experts think it’s shallow

The words in the planning exhibition hall are hard for ordinary people to understand easily. The terms “floor area ratio”, “green space ratio” and “TOD model” sound like incomprehensible languages. One time, a retired elderly man spent a long time in the “Smart Transportation” area and asked the guide, “What is BRT?” The guide said, “It’s a rapid bus.” The elderly man then asked, “What’s the difference from a regular bus?” The guide couldn’t answer. The old man later wrote in the guestbook, “The drawing is nice, but I just can’t understand it.” I felt really bad looking at it. Director Chen said.

Professionals, however, think the content is too shallow. Thomas came for the first time and wanted to learn about the water purification technology in Shanghai’s “One River and One Stream” plan. However, the explanation only said, “We want to make the water’s edge more beautiful,” without mentioning what processes were used or what plants were selected. He spent a long time taking pictures around the model and finally said to Director Chen, “I came to look for some technical details, but I didn’t see anything.”

2. Multiple teams on the same stage are in a mess: The voices of the explanations are ringing in succession

At least ten teams come to visit every day, with government inspection teams, enterprise research teams and school study Tours all crowded together. The previous audio guide did not have a zonal function. The Chinese team talked about greening in the “Future Community”, and the English team talked about factory layout in the “Industrial Zone”. The voices always mingled together. Last autumn, a group of overseas planners and a domestic study tour group both stayed at the digital sand table area. The former couldn’t hear the details of smart energy clearly, while the latter was so disturbed by English that they couldn’t take notes. Director Chen had to staggered the two teams, and the originally one-hour visit was delayed by two hours.

What’s even more embarrassing is the important reception. After a city planning press conference, a delegation of leaders came to visit a “key project”. Suddenly, the voices of the tourists beside them came out, and the scene fell silent instantly, which was particularly awkward. “Group visits are the norm. We mustn’t let the noise ruin the professionalism of the planning exhibition hall.” “

3. Foreigners “can’t understand” : Language barrier, a wasted trip

Nowadays, more and more foreigners come to the planning exhibition hall, but most of the time, there are only explanations in Chinese and English. Thomas came for the first time and wandered around aimlessly with a Chinese group. The English words on the display boards were just a few lines. When he saw the “Sponge City” model, he thought it was “some green belts”. When he saw the introduction of the “TOD model”, he thought it was just an ordinary shopping mall. Later, he told me that it felt like watching a silent movie. He knew there was something in these plans, but just couldn’t understand them.

Last year, the situation was even worse when we received a delegation from a Southeast Asian city. There was no Malay language explanation, and the delegation members could only translate the exhibition boards sentence by sentence with their mobile phones. The one-hour visit was delayed for two hours. Before leaving, the delegation leader said, “Next time, we need to bring a professional translator.” Director Chen felt uncomfortable and said, “They came here specifically to learn from experience, but were blocked by words. What a pity!” “

II. Yingmi Intelligent Tour Guide System: No need to press buttons

The intelligent tour guide system of Yingmi is precisely designed to address these pain points of planning museums – it doesn’t require complex operations, can explain professional content clearly, and also enables foreigners to understand, hitting the nail on the head.

1. RFID automatic sensing: Wherever you go, the explanation follows

The system adopts RFID-2.4G technology. Transmitters are installed in each exhibition area. Tourists take the tour guide machine and do not need to press any buttons. When they approach the explanation point, the device will automatically sound. When you reach the “Century of Changes” area, you will talk about “the city transforming from a fishing village into an international metropolis”. When approaching the “Future Community” model, one would ask, “How does the photovoltaic curtain wall generate electricity? How is the rainwater recycled?” When you walk to the digital sand table, the explanation can be synchronized with the animation inside the sand table. If you say, “A subway is going to be built here,” the subway lines inside the sand table will light up.

This design enables visitors to focus on viewing the exhibits without being distracted by handling the equipment. An auntie told me, “You don’t have to press any buttons. It’s more comfortable than following a tour guide.” ” Director Chen said that when Thomas came for the second time, he stayed by the digital sand table with the tour guide for 30 minutes. The equipment automatically switched from “ecological restoration” to “traffic planning” along the route he took, without missing a single detail.

2. Layered explanation: The elderly understand, and experts also praise

To ensure that everyone can understand, the system is explained in three layers: The basic layer is in plain language, stating “floor area ratio” as “how much land is occupied by the houses in the community”, and “sponge city” as “let the city store rainwater like a sponge”. Let’s delve into the details, such as “The floor area ratio is preferably between 2.0 and 3.0.” Experts provide data such as “What water quality indicators should be used for ecological restoration?” and “How should commercial and residential properties be proportioned in the TOD model?”

Ordinary tourists can easily understand the basic level. Professionals who switch to the expert level can obtain useful technical details. Thomas learned that in Shanghai’s “One River and One Stream” plan, “ecological floating islands + aquatic plants” were used to purify water quality. He also got the specific parameters. Before leaving, he deliberately said, “This system is much more professional than I thought.”

The content of the explanation has also been reviewed by urban planning experts to ensure that the terms are correct. For instance, when it comes to “BRT”, one might say, “It has dedicated lanes, can pass first at red lights, and can carry a large number of people.” When it comes to “TOD”, it can explain “building shopping malls, residences and office buildings around a subway station”. Whether you understand planning or not, you can understand it clearly.

3. Multilingual + anti-interference: Foreigners understand, no quarrels in multiple teams

For foreigners, the system supports 12 languages, including English, French, German and Arabic. Thomas listened to “sponge city” in English. The equipment said “sponge city collects rainwater with plants and small islands to store rainwater” (sponge city uses plants and small islands to store rainwater), not just a simple translation, with explanations added; When talking about “TOD”, say “focus on subways, mix shops, homes and offices” (centering around the subway, putting shopping malls, homes and offices together) to avoid misunderstandings.

Meanwhile, the system has 16 independent channels, so multiple teams visiting at the same time will not crosstalk. Last National Day, three teams stayed in the digital sand table area. The Chinese team listened to the basic explanations, the English team listened to the professional content, and the Japanese team listened to the data. Each team listened to their own things quietly. “Before, when multiple teams came, it was like going to a market. Now, it’s finally not noisy anymore.” ” Director Chen said with a smile.

III. “Thoughtful” Details: Practical and durable

The system of Yingmi has been able to gain a firm foothold in planning museums. It is not only because of its strong core functions but also because of its considerate details. These are all aspects that overseas planning museums might be concerned about:

1. The device is lightweight and has a long battery life

The tour guide device weighs only 80 grams, even lighter than a mobile phone. You can wear it around your neck for a whole day without feeling uncomfortable. The battery life can last for 12 hours, from opening to closing, without the need for charging in the middle. Once, the students in the study tour group led the group for a whole day and said at night, “There’s still half of the electricity left.” ” Xiao Li, who is in charge of the equipment, said.

2. Fast content updates

Urban planning is always changing. It is common for new projects to be implemented while old plans are adjusted. The system supports real-time content modification in the background. There is no need to change devices or reinstall the transmitter. Once the modification is done on the computer, the guide machine can be updated the next time it is turned on. This year, several new planning projects have been added in Shanghai. We revised the content in the morning, and tourists can hear it in the afternoon. It’s so convenient. Director Chen said.

3. Be able to view data and know what tourists like

The back-end can show which exhibition area visitors stay the longest, which language they prefer to use, and which exhibits are scanned more frequently. Director Chen found through the data that everyone was most interested in “future communities”, so he added more related models. Seeing that foreigners often use English and Japanese, I focused on optimizing the explanations in these two languages and added more technical details. “Before, adjusting the exhibits was all based on guesses. Now, with data to follow, it’s much more accurate.” “

IV.?Overseas users can also use it with confidence: compliant, service-oriented, and knowledgeable

Many overseas planning museums came to visit and asked Director Chen, “Why did you choose Eagle Rice?” The answer lies in the 15-year accumulation of Yingmi:

1. Comprehensive compliance certification, no fear of strict overseas standards

The system has passed the European CE and ROHS certifications. It can be used normally in Europe, America or Southeast Asia, and there is no need to worry about milestone approval issues. A person from the French Planning Museum came, looked at the certification documents and said on the spot, “We can discuss cooperation.” Manager Zhang in charge of overseas business said.

2. After-sales service is in place and there’s no need to wait for a time difference

Yingmi has set up after-sales service points in several cities around the world. If there is any problem with the equipment, they can arrive at the door within one hour. We also offer 7×24-hour customer service in English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Whether it’s installing the system, modifying the content or resolving minor issues, we can respond promptly. “Previously, when Singapore planned to install the system for the exhibition hall, our technicians provided video guidance and it was completed in just three days without having to wait for a time difference.” “

3. I have handled many cases and understand what a planning museum wants

Yingmi has previously provided systems for planning museums in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Chengdu, and has also served the British Museum and Huawei’s overseas exhibition halls. It fully understands the demands that “planning museums should be professional and cross-language”. “Overseas clients choose us because they know we won’t let them fall into traps and they don’t have to explain from scratch ‘what the planning exhibition hall needs’.” “

Conclusion: Let the future of the city be understood by more people

At the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall in the evening, the setting sun dyed the digital sand table golden. Thomas held the audio guide and finally stopped at the “Eco-City” area. The English commentary in his headphones was still saying, “The future of this city is not only about tall buildings, but also about green mountains and clear waters…” He took out his mobile phone, recorded a video and sent it to his overseas colleagues: “This system enables us to truly understand China’s planning and is worth learning from.”

Yingmi’s development of intelligent tour guides is never about “showing off technology”. It aims to make the blueprints in urban planning museums understandable to ordinary people, recognized by professionals, and emulated by overseas peers. Without complicated operations or extra spending, tourists can simply take the tour guide and have a dialogue with the future of the city – this is what a planning exhibition hall should be like.

In the future, Yingmi also plans to add some new features: for instance, using AR to allow tourists to “step into” the future community and take a look at what their Windows look like. Add more minor languages so that users of Arabic and Russian can also understand them. After all, the future of a city is not something painted on paper; it is something that everyone can understand and look forward to. And what Yingmi wants to do is to let this expectation reach more people’s hearts through a clear voice.