Modernising the visitor trails at the Musée de l'Armée with the M-Guide and the Audiopen

The Musée de l'Armée, located within the Hôtel National des Invalides in Paris, welcomes more than 1.3 million visitors a year, a million of whom come to see the tomb of Napoleon I. In order to modernise its visitor trails and meet the diverse expectations of its audiences, the museum has adopted two innovative visit tools supplied by Sycomore: the M-Guide and the Audiopen.

M-Guide: the interactive multimedia guide

The M-Guide is a modern multimedia device that enriches the visit with interactive and visual content. Equipped with a 5.5-inch high-resolution screen, it displays videos and images and offers augmented reality features for an immersive experience. Thanks to beacon-based geolocation, visitors can find their way on an interactive map and explore the museum's various spaces with ease: commentaries are triggered automatically according to their position, for a smooth and intuitive visit.

Integrated into the museum to showcase its different trails, the M-Guide provides easy access to rich, detailed information, whether it is understanding historic military strategies or admiring the points of interest on display.

Audiopen: the playful, cost-effective audio guide

To offer an accessible and interactive alternative, the museum also uses the Audiopen. This playful audio guide works like an optical-reading pen: visitors trigger the audio commentaries by pointing at specific areas of the printed visit maps.

Available in eight languages, the Audiopen is particularly suited to short, focused visits, notably those centred on the Dôme des Invalides and the tomb of Napoleon I. It is a lower-cost solution, perfect for first-time visitors who come mainly for Napoleon's tomb but wish to obtain additional information in an interactive and engaging way.

Implementation in close collaboration

Modernising the visitor trails involved several key stages, carried out in close collaboration with Sycomore:

• Installation and supply of the M-Guides: 192 M-Guides were supplied to the museum, along with their peripherals. Beacons were installed to provide indoor visitor location and automatic triggering of the commentaries.
• Application development and content management: the POPGuide Museum application was integrated into the M-Guides, combined with a content management system (CMS) that allows information to be updated regularly, so the trails evolve with new exhibitions and visitor feedback.
• Deployment of the Audiopens: 150 Audiopens were supplied, with tailored visit maps developed in collaboration with the museum, for a playful, interactive experience aimed at visitors and tourism professionals alike.

The integration of the M-Guide and the Audiopen at the Musée de l'Armée illustrates how technology can transform the visitor experience by offering modern, interactive and enriching trails, suited to first-time international visitors and to those wishing to deepen their knowledge alike.