For Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, we developed a podwalk app. With this app, you can follow podwalks in Groningen. Podwalks are location-based audio tours. Go on a walk with Aletta and learn about the history of health in Groningen.
Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health is a collaboration between the University of Groningen, UMCG, Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen, and NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences. Together, they are the proud proponents of 'healthy aging' in Northern Netherlands.
In partnership with Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, we developed a podwalk app that contributes to their common goal: more healthy years. With this podwalk app, you can follow audio tours in Groningen. The first podwalk is 'Op stap met Aletta' (On a walk with Aletta). Op stap met Aletta tells the story of Aletta Jacobs about the history of health in Groningen. It's a 4 km route along hidden hospices and other beautiful locations, where you gradually learn more about health, both in Aletta Jacobs' time and in our own time.
With podwalks, visitors can choose when they want to go for a walk, and there's no need for guides anymore.
With podwalks, the narrated audio guides you along the way.
The Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health had an existing city tour called 'Gezonde Stad Groningen,' which involved having a guide provide explanations while you walked. While it was a nice experience, it wasn't very sustainable or scalable. That's why they wanted to make the route more interactive and transform it into a podwalk. Podwalks are GPS-guided audio tours. In other words, the narrated audio tells you the story and navigates you through the route, all while your phone stays in your pocket. It's a new technology that Elements has a lot of experience with, including the podwalk app for 'Het Verhaal van Nederland' (The Story of the Netherlands).
Elements has developed its own white-label podwalk platform, which Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health also uses. As a result, about 80% of the apps have already been developed and designed, allowing us to limit the investment for Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health without compromising the quality.
Since the podwalk app truly shines with accurately mapped routes and next-level audio, we worked closely with Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health. Two student teams were formed to take responsibility for the visuals, sound design, and, of course, testing. The scenario was written by Ruth Koops van 't Jagt, and the route was planned by another student.
Mapping routes and linking them to the audio is a particularly challenging task. That's why Elements developed a calibration tool that makes it easy to plot GPS points on location and then link the audio to those points.
Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health utilized Elements' white-label podwalk platform. The white-label podwalk platform includes all the necessary logic, user journeys, and UX design for GPS-guided audio tours. Think of it as a native iOS and native Android app that is about 80% complete. The remaining 20% is customized for Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, including the implementation of their own style guide, texts, images, routes, and audio.
The podwalk app contains both a Dutch and English route, making it accessible to a broad audience. The podwalk app is a sustainable platform, allowing Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health to scale to multiple routes in the coming years at no additional cost. The podwalk app 'Op stap met Aletta' was launched during the European Researchers' Night on September 29th in Groningen.
The app can be downloaded in the Apple Store or Google Play Store.
Interested in creating your own podwalk app? Click here to request a demo.