Overseas friends who have visited the Louvre have all had this amusingly frustrating experience: After researching the tour guide plans in advance, they were full of anticipation to listen to the "blurry painting technique" of the Mona Lisa, to learn about the type of marble used for the Venus de Milo with the broken arm, etc. But when they arrived at the venue, they were completely at a loss - renting traditional tour guide devices would require a queue of over an hour, and after finally getting the device, the signal suddenly dropped and they had to restart it several times but still couldn't use it; when switching to Spanish interpretation, the machine's pronunciation was even more stiff than that of a robot, "the blurry painting technique" was translated as "blurry painting skill", and the children got upset after listening to just a couple of sentences and refused to listen any further; the device was hung around the neck like a small brick, and by the afternoon, the neck became sore and painful after walking for several hours. Finally, they simply put it in a bag and missed half of the tour guide content - had they known this, they would have been better off buying a paper manual.

    As a brand of Huizhou Weima Information Technology Co., Ltd. that has been dedicated to voice tour guides for 16 years, Yingmi (YINGMI) has developed a complete set of automatic sensing voice tour guide solution (including M7/i7 automatic sensing tour guide device, Z50 self-service rental cabinet, MC200 multi-channel system) for large art exhibition halls like the Louvre. This solution relies on "no queue, stable signal, pure language, lightweight and convenient", and has already helped international exhibition halls such as the Suzhou Museum and the British Museum solve tour guide problems. Now, it can also enable overseas tourists of the Louvre to truly "understand art and have a pleasant tour experience".

Ⅰ. 5 "traps" in Louvre tour guide: Problems that overseas friends dread

    The Louvre receives over 9 million visitors a year, with over 60% being overseas friends. However, the old problems of traditional tour guides always make this "art pilgrimage" turn into a "trouble-making" experience - these pain points are also the reasons for us to develop this solution:

1. Queuing for equipment until your legs are numb, and language barriers are even more annoying

    During the peak season at the Louvre, the queue at the manual rental counter can circle the exhibition hall twice. It only takes a quick 15 minutes to be considered fast. Overseas friends not only have to stand in line but also have difficulty communicating: To confirm "can I use Visa to pay the deposit" or "is there Portuguese language available", the staff's English is mixed with French slang, and it takes a long time for them to gesture to understand; What's more infuriating is that when they reach their turn, the language equipment they want is already gone, and they can only force themselves to choose an unfamiliar language throughout the process of "listening for a general idea".

2. Signal is unstable, and the explanation suddenly stops

    The Louvre exhibition halls are winding and the walls are thick, from the Egyptian section underground to the top-floor painting section, the signal shielding is particularly severe. Traditional tour guide devices often have problems: Japanese tourists visiting the Egyptian section, just as they hear the story of the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone, they reach the next display case and the signal stops; Some devices require inputting the French exhibit number, and overseas friends look at the number table blankly, can only guess randomly, and the result is that it plays the explanation of another exhibit.

3. Small languages are all "machine-like", and the artistic details are lost

    Many traditional tour guide devices' small languages are machine-translated, and the pronunciation is stiff, not to mention the frequent errors: "Mona Lisa's wooden canvas" is translated as "wooden painting", "Victory Goddess's bronze material" is said to be "metal statue"; Even more absurdly, Spanish explanations contain French words, and Mexican friends listen for a while and realize that "this is not proper Spanish" - trying to understand some artistic details is completely in vain.

4. Want to replay or ask questions? No way!

    Traditional tour guide devices mostly only have "one-way broadcasting": To listen again to the creation time of "Mona Lisa", you have to flip back 20 minutes; A child asks "why the Victory Goddess doesn't have a head", can only chase after the tour guide, but the tour guide is surrounded by people; Some even don't have a volume key, and in the Mona Lisa exhibition hall, people are crowded, can only "guess" to listen to the explanation.

5. The equipment is heavy and uncomfortable, and the neck gets sore after walking for a while

    Many traditional tour guide devices weigh over 100 grams and the hanging rope is hard. After walking for 3 hours, the neck becomes sore and painful. A German friend quipped: "It's like having a small brick hanging on it. In the end, I had to keep it in my pocket. As a result, I missed the explanations for several exhibits - I would have been better off just looking at the free Chinese labels (though I couldn't understand them either)."

II. Yingmi Voice Tour Guide: Fill in all the "holes" of the Louvre Tour

   In response to the tour needs of the Louvre, we developed a solution from three aspects: "renting, listening, and using". Every design was based on the actual experience of overseas friends and was derived from the implementation experience of museums like the Suzhou Museum and the British Museum:

1. Yingmi Z50 Self-service Rental Cabinet: 2 minutes to complete, no queuing, no gestures needed

    The Yingmi Z50 self-service rental cabinet has been well-known in Suzhou Museum and Xiamen Gulangyu Island. It is suitable for the Louvre - it solves the problems of "long queues and difficult communication":
    24-hour rental and return: Place the Z50 at the entrance of the Louvre, the Egyptian Gallery, and the Painting Gallery, no need to go to an artificial window. Early morning arriving flight tourists and evening arriving business friends can rent at any time;
    International compatibility not difficult: The touch screen supports 8 languages including English, French, and Spanish, automatically matching your mobile phone system language, no need to manually switch; Pay fees with Visa, MasterCard or WeChat, Alipay, the deposit amount and how to refund are clearly written on the screen, no need to gesture with others;
    Equipment selection as needed: The cabinet can hold both M7 and i7 navigation devices - parents with children choose M7, the lightweight design also allows for dual headphones sharing, children can also listen; For solo visitors, choose i7, the earpiece-like design is about the same weight as a credit card, and it won't hurt after wearing for a long time.
    After using the Z50 in Suzhou Museum last year, the time spent renting the tour guide devices by overseas tourists was reduced from 15 minutes to 2 minutes, and the complaint rate dropped to zero - this efficiency is perfectly suitable for the Louvre.

2. M7/i7 Automatic Sensing: Wherever you go, wherever the explanation is, the signal is stable like a private tour guide

    The Yingmi M7 and i7 automatic sensing navigation devices use RFID-2.4G non-interfering star distribution technology, specifically optimized for the complex exhibition environment of the Louvre:
    Automatic triggering without "disconnection": The Louvre only needs to hide a small signal transmitter beside the exhibits (placed under the display cabinet or on the sign, without affecting the exhibits), when you walk into the range of 1-3 meters, the explanation will automatically play - when you reach the Mona Lisa, first explain "Painted on a poplar board, it took 4 years", then explain "Diffusion painting technique made the smile mysterious"; when you reach the Venus de Milo with the broken arm, it will say "Discovered on the Greek island of Milos, made from marble from Paros Island", throughout the process no buttons need to be pressed, no missed explanations.
    Signal penetration without blind spots: The underground Egyptian Gallery of the Louvre has the worst signal, we tested it in Huawei's Shenzhen factory (similarly complex space), the signal of M7 can penetrate 200 meters of the workshop, and it can also transmit stably in the sarcophagus area of the Egyptian Gallery; during the Rosetta Stone special exhibition at the British Museum, M7 received 5,000 overseas visitors, and there was no connection interruption once.
    Replay at will: There is a "replay" button on the device, if you didn't hear clearly "The historical background of 'Napoleon's Coronation'", just press it to replay; M7 also has a 3.5-inch screen, you can see the exhibit pictures and the progress of the explanation, no need to guess where you heard it.
3. Multiple languages are "authentic", art details are not deviated
We know that the explanations at the Louvre cannot be "shoddy", so we specially built the HM8.0 multilingual sharing platform, never using machine translation as a substitute:
    Full coverage of major languages: English, French, Spanish, German - all the commonly used languages are included, covering 80% of the source countries of overseas tourists to the Louvre; if you need less common languages like Dutch or Portuguese, they can be customized in just 3 days - last year, a Dutch study tour group went to Wuyi Mountain, and we specially provided a Dutch-language explanation of "tea production", even going so far as to clearly explain "the firing temperature".
    Recorded by native speakers, without "machine-like" quality: The English explanations were recorded by former museum guides from the UK, and the French ones were recorded by local tour guides from Paris. The pronunciation is natural, and they will add details like "Look at Mona Lisa's hand, the lines are so soft" - unlike traditional tour guides who simply recite the materials dryly.Native speakers record, no "machine-like" feel: The English explanations are provided by former museum guides from the UK, and the French ones are recorded by local tour guides from Paris. The pronunciation is natural, and they add details like "Look at the lines of Mona Lisa's hand, they are so gentle" which is different from the dry recitation of traditional tour guides.

4. Lightweight design: Doesn't make you tired after wearing for a long time, and it's clean

    To address the problem of traditional devices being "heavy and uncomfortable", we made M7 and i7 extremely lightweight:
    The i7 ear-mounted version weighs only 25 grams, about the same as two credit cards, and it features Ergo ergonomic design, so it won't pinch your ears even after wearing it for 5 hours to visit the Louvre; The M7 handheld version weighs 40 grams and is easy to hold with one hand, even for children, and they can use it easily.
    Disinfection is safe to use: The Z50 rental cabinet also comes with ultraviolet disinfection. After returning the equipment, it automatically disinfects for 15 minutes. When you take it out, the screen will display "Disinfected" and you won't worry about the previous person not cleaning it - especially suitable for families with children.

Ⅲ. Yingmi's confidence: Being able to serve the Louvre is not due to gimmicks

    We can say that it is suitable for the Louvre because we rely on 16 years of solid strength. All of this is written in our guide mapbook, not empty talk:

1. International certification + safety guarantee, using it in France is safe

    Our guide devices have all passed the EU CE and RoHS certifications, comply with French electronic equipment standards, and won't have problems like "voltage mismatch" or "unable to enter customs"; Each device undergoes 5 tests (signal, noise reduction, battery, drop, antibacterial) from the first one to the 1 millionth, and there has never been a single safety accident, and our products are covered by the China Ping An product liability insurance - overseas friends using them don't have to be afraid of being scared.

2. 9G service system: Someone will take care of the problem

    Overseas friends are most afraid of "the device breaks down and no one repairs it". Our 9G service has already considered this: We respond to English inquiries within 90 seconds before sale, and you can also get a sample for free to try; If you need it urgently during the sale, it can be shipped via DHL on the same day; The 24-hour English and French customer service (400-990-7677) is always available, for example, if you encounter "the device doesn't trigger" at the Louvre, you can call to solve it remotely; If the device needs to be repaired, it will be completed within 10 days, and during this period, a backup device can be provided.

3. Experience enough in international exhibition halls

    We have already provided guide services for international-level exhibition halls like the British Museum and the Chinese National Museum - for the "Rosetta Stone Special Exhibition" at the British Museum, the M7 served an average of 5,000 people per day, with zero complaints; For the "Wen Zhengming Calligraphy Exhibition" at the Suzhou Museum, the exhibition item spacing was only 1 meter, and with our C7 touch guide device, there was never a sound interference problem - these experiences are completely sufficient for the Louvre.

4. Can produce independently, supply is guaranteed

    We have 4 automated SMT production lines and a 10-person team of postgraduate and doctoral researchers. Urgent orders can be dispatched on the same day, and batch orders can be delivered within 72 hours - if the Louvre needs to add equipment during the peak season, we can quickly provide it, and there won't be a situation of "unable to rent".

Ⅳ. How do overseas friends choose? Choose according to your needs

    We have made flexible combination suggestions for different groups of people at the Louvre, so you don't have to guess:
Independent travel / couples: Choose the i7 ear-mounted version + Z50 rental cabinet, the i7 is lightweight and doesn't take up space, it can be rented without queuing, you can talk about it wherever you go, and you can replay it as needed; For a family with children: Choose the M7 handheld version, with dual headphone holes, it can be shared by parents and children, the screen can show the pictures of the exhibits, and you can also turn on the "Children Mode" (simplified language, adding interesting questions, such as "Guess how many fingers Mona Lisa has"), children can also fall in love with art;
    Corporate / educational groups: Choose the 008B two-way speaker + MC200 multi-channel system, the 008B supports two-way communication, team members can ask questions like "What are the character relationships in 'Napoleon's Coronation'?" by pressing a button, and the entire team can hear clearly; The MC200 supports multi-team parallel operation. For example, three different national groups can visit simultaneously. The French group uses Channel 1, the Japanese group uses Channel 5, and they do not interfere with each other.

V. Conclusion: Let the art of the Louvre be understood by everyone

    Yingmi has been a tour guide for 16 years. She never intended to sell a "voice-activated machine", but rather wanted to build a bridge - allowing overseas friends to no longer worry about renting equipment or not being able to hear clearly, and be able to focus on enjoying the smile of the Mona Lisa, feeling the elegance of the Venus de Milo with her broken arms, and understanding the dynamic movement of the Goddess of Victory.
    Just as we always say, "Make the explanations cooler". Cool is not about having more fancy technology, but about making every art story clearly and accurately reach your ears. If you are the operator of the Louvre, and want to provide a better experience for overseas tourists; or if you are an overseas travel agency, and want to customize a tour guide plan for the team, Yingmi can always come up with an appropriate plan - after all, a good tour guide should make the art itself the main character.