The Department of Anthropology is very happy to announce that the native Android version of Talus is now available for free from the Google Play Store. Created originally as a mobile website by Emily Niespodziewanski (PhD student in the MSU Department of Anthropology) as part of her Cultural Heritage Informatics Grad Fellowship, Talus aggregates dozens of the most commonly used bioprofiling methodologies into one easy-to-navigate mobile application. The app is designed to help forensic anthropologists, bioarchaeologists, and paleoanthropologists analyze human skeletal material without having to rely upon dozens of physical articles and books.
All materials used in Talus are clearly and simply cited so that users know exactly which bioprofiling source they are using. Ultimately, Talus is a user friendly reorganization and new presentation of trusted material, not the creation of untested information or methods.
The release of Talus for Android signals the next phase of the project. There are plans to release the app on iOS in the near future, and Emily is committed to adding new features and content to both the mobile web version and native mobile version.
The development of the original (mobile web) version of Talus was supported by the Cultural Heritage Informatics Initiative Grad Fellowship Program. The development of this new Android version of Talus was supported by the Cultural Heritage Informatics Initiative and MATRIX: The Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences.
About the Cultural Heritage Informatics Initiaitive
Hosted by the Department of Anthropology in partnership MATRIX: The Center for Digital Humanities & Social Sciences, the Cultural Heritage Informatics Initiative is a platform for interdisciplinary scholarly collaboration and communication in the domain of Cultural Heritage Informatics at Michigan State University. In addition, the initiative strives to equip students (both graduate and undergraduate in the many cultural heritage focused disciplines at MSU with the methodological skills necessary creatively and thoughtfully apply information, communication, and computing technology to cultural heritage materials, influence the current state of digital cultural heritage, and become thought leaders for the future of digital cultural heritage.