In the next few months, the Connective Corridor will unveil six new motion-controlled kiosks to promote the local art and culture scene.

There are 11 kiosks with general information about the city already in development, but these six kiosks will focus exclusively on arts and culture, according to a Sept. 3 Syracuse New Times article.

The project will cost more than $300,000 and will be completed in a few months, Linda Dickerson Hartsock, director of the Connective Corridor, said in an email.

Money for the project came from a state grant that the Connective Corridor’s development budget then matched. The grant requires that the kiosks not post commercial advertisements and are used for art and cultural purposes only, according to the article.

The software for the kiosks is being developed by SenSyr, a company founded by Syracuse University physics professor Ed Lipson.

The company often works with human-computer interface systems. It also designed the singing sidewalk and LED-panels at Syracuse Stage. SU students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts are contributing to the development of the system, Hartsock said.

“We’d really love to stress the student involvement in developing this system,” she said.

The kiosks are currently in the developmental stage, with software development and design still in the works.

Quinton Fletchall is one of the VPA students contributing to the project. Fletchall, a graduate student majoring in communication and rhetorical studies, developed the graphic design templates and the map system for the kiosks.

“Everything that we’ve done with the Connective Corridor has been for redeveloping Syracuse,” Fletchall said. “Our district is tied with the university and downtown, and we’re really trying to build off what’s there.”

He cited the numerous galleries and museums along the corridor and said the kiosks are meant to serve as a “one-stop location” to help people navigate them.

The kiosks will use Microsoft Kinect technology, making them stand out from the other touch screen kiosks in the city, Fletchall said.

“This is the first time Xbox Kinect technology has been used in a system like this,” he said. “There is not another city with kiosks like these who we can turn to as an example and with questions to help design them, which has been a challenge.”

Two of the six kiosks have already been ordered. They will be installed at the Erie Canal Museum and the Onondaga Historical Association by the end of the year, Fletchall said.

Lynne Pascale, the director of development for the Onondaga Historical Association, said she hopes that having a kiosk right in front of the museum will get more people to come inside.

“Many people walk by our doors and don’t come inside,” she said. “But with the kiosk they’ll be able to see information about the museum and events without coming inside and that should encourage them to do so.”

The Onondaga Historical Association includes a research center with photographs, archaeological records and architectural information about Onondaga County. Pascale wants to publicize the center because she believes it’s what makes the association different from other museums in the area.

“If they realize we have a research center that’ll be open to the public, they’ll realize that our place is unique,” she said.

Vicki Krisak, the director of marketing and development for the Erie Canal Museum, said she thinks the new kiosks will benefit the museum. She said the system might get its users to take an interest in the museum, and maybe even become members.

“Anything that provides information to people who are traveling down the Connective Corridor through the community that directs them toward our museum is beneficial,” she said.

Published on September 10, 2014 at 12:01 am