Barcelona Zoo and Park Güell will be testing two technological solutions over the coming months to make the experience of visitors with specific needs more inclusive. The projects are two of the technological solutions that have been developed from the challenges launched by the city in October 2021 as part of the InnovAcció 2030 programme.

This initiative is led by Barcelona City Council's 2030 Agenda Commissioner, Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (BSM) and the Mobile World Capital Barcelona Foundation, through the Digital Future Society programme. The aim is to respond in an innovative way to different urban challenges to accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

In this case, the challenge was to take advantage of the use of technology to make visits to Park Güell and the Zoo more inclusive.

Barcelona Zoo: a virtual assistant that interacts with users

The technological solution to be tested at the Zoo is an accessible conversational bot designed for people with visual, auditory and cognitive accessibility needs or people with disabilities or mental health disorders. It is called ZOOBOT, has been developed by the company La Tempesta: Ciutat, Cultura & Tecnologia and works with a mobile phone or tablet. It is a conversational bot capable of interacting with the user, providing information about what is in front of them and guiding them according to their needs. 

Park Güell will test an application that adapts the contents to the needs of the user.

In the case of the Park Güell, the proposal selected to improve the experience of people with cognitive (intellectual and autism spectrum disorder), sensory (hearing and visual) and physical (mobility and organic) diversity who visit it has been conceived by the company Play&Go Experience. 

It consists of an application that adapts the format of the contents to the needs of the user and includes 2D maps, standardised easy-to-read texts, pictograms, 23 audio guides and 15 video clips, among other resources. In this test phase, the application adapts to 16 different user profiles that can be combined. It provides information on 34 points of interest and services in Park Güell. 

The application can be downloaded free of charge from the Play&Go Experience market place.

Support and accompaniment for people with disabilities

The two tools, which will be tested until next May in real environments, have been selected through a public innovation competition promoted by BSM. Their selection and subsequent development has been made with the support and accompaniment of the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities and entities of the Accessibility and Independent Living Network of the Citizen's Agreement for an Inclusive Barcelona. 

Throughout the creation process, the organisations took part in different meetings, personal interviews and simulation activities, among other dynamics. Their contribution and experience has been crucial in improving both the process of developing the applications and their implementation at Barcelona Zoo and Park Güell.