Flinders University has combined technology and history to create an innovative tool to guide students around this week’s Open Days.

Open Day Buddy, an iPhone app using an avatar of explorer Matthew Flinders, can be downloaded from the iTunes store, and contains handy hints for the thousands of prospective students and their parents who will visit the campus tomorrow and on Saturday.

“Flinders’ Open Days will be the first public display of this innovative communication technology developed by researchers at the University,” Ms Tanya Newhouse, Chief Executive Officer of the development company, Clevertar Pty Ltd, said today.

“People respond well to life-like characters giving them information and the technology behind O’Day Buddy has numerous potential applications ranging from virtual coaches to virtual assistants – it’s a ‘buddy’ in your pocket when you need them,” she said.

O’Day Buddy is a companion to Flinders’ Open Day app which contains a full program, an Open Day planner, a map, social media links, and videos and photos. The Open Day app is also available for Android phones.

Flinders’ Open Days have a wide range of activities, displays and tours that will introduce prospective students to the University including:

• Insights into the real world of forensic science with analysis of ‘blood’ splatters
• The latest in video game and robotics technologies
• A unique theatre experience in the inflatable Dome Theatre
• An international perspective on the US Presidential race, and
• Numerous course displays and information booths.

Full details of the Open Days program can be found here. The two Open Day apps can be downloaded from the Flinders website. A video with more information about the O’Day Buddy can be viewed here.