This year’s Notte Bianca gets iPhone application

Tech savvy visitors to this year’s edition of Notte Bianca on Saturday will be able to use their iPhones to navigate their way around the event, thanks to an application developed especially for the occasion.

The app, which is free to download from Apple’s app store, will allow iPhone users to view a detailed map of Valletta featuring information on all points of interest, as well as the times and venues of events such as live bands and theatrical performances.

It will also provide the Civil Protection Department with information on crowd movements by utilising the iPhone’s GPS function, and will be used by the CPD to provide alerts in case of an emergency.

The app was developed at the University of Passau in Germany, in collaboration with the University of Malta and the CPD, and is part of Socionical, an ICT project funded under European Seventh Framework Programme.

Valletta mayor Alexiei Dingli said three additional Wi-Fi hotspots would be set up near Wembley Store in South Street corner with Republic Street, the Castille Hotel in St Paul Street and the Casino Maltese in Republic Street, apart from the current one in St George’s Square.

Dr Dingli said even though this year the app was only available to iPhone users, it was envisaged to extend it to other smartphones in time for next year’s edition, featuring more functions.

Michael Galea, a station officer in the CPD, said he hoped the app would be used in the future during other events that attracted large numbers of people.

Vanessa Camilleri, a university assistant lecturer involved in the project, said the app required the permission of users before it accessed data from their phones, and it was approved by the EU’s ethics committee. Meanwhile, the organisers of Notte Bianca announced that this year’s event includes an open-air art gallery at St Barbara Bastions, with around 50 artists displaying their work. Additionally, artist Antoine Farrugia will be creating an art space inspired by cinematography.

The installation will be put inside the Old Market by the entrance from Merchant Street. Visitors will see local short film productions and anime with live sketches featuring famous Japanese animation characters like Lupin and Sailor Moon.