Aycliffe Today Business #10 | Page 7

Bringing Aycliffe Business Park Together | 7 /NEWS Magic! Our new App brings Aycliffe Today Business to life, just like they do at Hogwarts. A REALITY CHECK FOR AYCLIFFE TODAY! Aycliffe Today is using the latest multi-media technology to bring your latest business magazine to life - Harry Potter-style! We’ve teamed up with Aurasma, the world’s leading augmented reality platform, using advanced image and pattern recognition to blend the real-world with interactive content. It means some of the features in this magazine can be converted into video content which can be viewed on your phone simply by scanning the page - and it’s FREE! Aurasma is available as a free app for iPhones, iPads and high-powered Android devices. All you have to do is download the Aurasma App, search for Aycliffe Today and ‘follow’ our channel, just as you’d follow us on Twitter, and you’re ready to go. Open the Aurasma view finder and hold it over any image in our publications which includes the Aurasma logo, and it will bring it to life! “We’re very excited about this latest development for Aycliffe Today, said editor ” Martin Walker. “We’ve always been keen on producing video content on our website and the online version of our magazines contain some of that, but this is completely different. HITACHI PROJECT REMAINS ON TRACK newspaper in the Harry Potter movies!” Aurasma was launched in 2011 and has quickly risen to become the world’s leading augmented reality platform, with over 40,000 customers operating in more than 100 countries. The London-based company, which has offices in San Francisco, is working with a string of world-renowned brands including Sage, GQ, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo and Jean Paul Gaultier as well as pop stars such as One Direction and Taylor Swift. Martin added: “Software like this proves there’s still a lot of years left for printed media. “We’re always looking for the latest ways to embrace new media, but Aurasma allows us to complement traditional printed media with the most-up-to-date technology. “Our online video content has always proved to be popular, but this gives our readers the option to see our interactive content within the context of the magazine. “It also has a lot of potential for businesses looking for original marketing opportunities. ” Tell us what you think about Aurasma and our augmented reality content by emailing: [email protected] HOW IT WORKS “It actually blends “real-life” content i.e. the printed publication in your hand - with interactive content, bringing it to life... similar to the fictional Daily Prophet • Using your iPhone, iPad or Android, download Aurasma from your App store. • Once downloaded, search for Aycliffe Today and follow us. • Go to your view finder and 'scan' an image which contains the Aurasma logo. • Watch your printed picture come to life! I’m delighted to bring Aycliffe Today Business readers an update on how the development of our £82m train-building facility is progressing. There has been a lot of essential ground works and environmental work that had to be done before we could even start laying foundations, but progress on site over recent months is now becoming much more visual. I think people get excited when they start to see the skyline change, which is what we’re seeing now. I go on site every couple of days, and every time I go it has changed significantly. At the moment we’re probably about a sixth of the way through the steelwork and we’d expect that work to be completed by around September. Of course, it’s very much a long-term development, but we’re on track to be open for business in late-2015. Meanwhile, our recruitment programme is also progressing along nicely. We have 19 people now and we expect to double that by the end of the year. Most of my first level reports are in place, and they’re now actively recruiting for Manufacturing and Quality engineers. So we are well on the way to reach 40 employees