Mobile App Uses Aruba Beacons and Meridian App Platform to Give Students, Faculty and Visitors Turn-by-Turn Navigation and Collaborative Content for the OU Libraries System
Aruba Networks, an HP company, (NYSE:HPQ) today announced that the
University of Oklahoma (OU) has deployed Aruba Beacons and the Aruba
Meridian Mobile App Platform to deliver a new mobile app that helps
students, faculty and visitors navigate the OU Libraries, exhibits and
other Norman Campus landmarks. The OU NavApp provides turn-by-turn
directions and location-based and educational content for more than one
million visits annually.
Following a successful proof of concept in the library’s Peggy V.
Helmerich Collaborative Learning Center – a unique and popular
technology space OU created – the University decided to expand its
deployment to its entire seven-floor, 400,000 square foot OU Libraries
system as well as other highly-visited attractions on campus including
The National Weather Center, Fred Jones Museum and Sam Noble Natural
History Museum.
The OU Libraries is the largest research library in the state of
Oklahoma, has been featured in U.S. News & World Report as
one of the most beautiful, historic campus libraries in the country and
is renowned for its rich portfolio of historical books and special
history of science collections. In addition to providing traditional
library services to students and faculty, OU’s Bizzell Memorial Library
is the site of a Galileo’s
World exhibit that begins August 2015 and runs through 2016. The OU
Bizzell Library was chosen to host this exhibit, as it possesses a
complete and rare set of first edition Galileo publications from 16th
century Italy, some of which even contain Galileo’s own handwriting in
the margins.
With its extensive collections including 17,000 linear feet of
manuscripts and archives, more than one million photographs and more
than a million maps, as well as its unique collaborative learning
center, the OU Libraries is a popular destination for students, faculty
and visitors. However, as Matthew Cook, Emerging Technologies Librarian
for OU explained, it can be complicated to navigate.
“It's an intimidating building, especially for first-time users, which
include many of our incoming freshmen, and it’s a bit obscure. The
resources and services are not immediately apparent when you walk in the
front door,” Cook said. “With the beacons and mobile app, we can now
leverage the technology that’s already in our freshmen’s pockets – their
mobile devices – to combine the offline and online experience and guide
them between resources. Essentially, these solutions let us tap into and
better serve the needs of this growing #GenMobile generation of user.”
OU deployed Aruba Beacons and used the Meridian Mobile App Platform to
design their interactive, feature-rich NavApp, which is available for
both Android and iOS. Cook explained that when users who have downloaded
the app enter the OU Libraries system, their experience is truly
transformed. The app is organized by type of user – student, faculty or
visitor – so that users can quickly and easily find the information and
resources most relevant to them.
The app provides a map and turn-by-turn navigation for every publicly
accessible area along with all of the physical resources, so users can
easily find their way through the buildings and locate resources,
gallery exhibits, restrooms and elevators. Cook noted that OU relies on
the accessibility features built into the Meridian Mobile App Platform
so they can provide users with disabilities the easiest route to
elevators, for example, or during a storm, guide students using the
library to the safest location. Said Cook, “Beyond the obvious
convenience and efficiency the app brings our users, there’s a safety
and security element as well.”
“We have the content in place and the navigation is working
beautifully,” said Cook. “Now we need to monitor the number of users
downloading the app to determine how successful it is, ultimately, and
how much further we can expand the deployment.”
Click here for a video of the OU Libraries NavApp in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTpuYP1of1I
About Aruba Networks, an HP company
Aruba Networks, an HP company, is a leading provider of next-generation
network access solutions for the mobile enterprise. The company designs
and delivers Mobility-Defined Networks that empower IT departments and
#GenMobile, a new generation of tech-savvy users who rely on their
mobile devices for every aspect of work and personal communication. To
create a mobility experience that #GenMobile and IT can rely upon, Aruba
Mobility-Defined Networks™ automate infrastructure-wide performance
optimization and trigger security actions that used to require manual IT
intervention. The results are dramatically improved productivity and
lower operational costs.
To learn more, visit Aruba at http://www.arubanetworks.com.
For real-time news updates follow Aruba on Twitter
and Facebook,
and for the latest technical discussions on mobility and Aruba products
visit Airheads Social at http://community.arubanetworks.com.
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Aruba Networks, an HP company
Pavel Radda, +1-408-419-0294
Director of Corporate Communications
pradda@arubanetworks.com
or
LSH Communications for Aruba Networks, an HP company
Lori Hultin, +1-818-879-4651
Principal
lhultin@arubanetworks.com