Augmented reality team demostrating on the test wall
At this point it made sense to expand on where we
sourced our videos. We thought it would be appealing to provide
more intimate experiences by including the landscape architecture
community in Boston. A call went out to all BSLA members to record
videos of their experiences at their favorite spots by digital means, and
quickly we started receiving videos of people walking through the
Boston Common, sitting in the Rose Kennedy Greenway, and GoPro
videos of people biking around the Boston area. We simply sync these
videos with corresponding maps and images on the booth and, just by
pointing a smart device at the map, the corresponding video will play.
Using augmented reality proved extremely viable because it enabled
us to remove the infrastructure obstacles, increase the number of sites
that we could showcase, and provide a simple way for event attendees
to get personal tours through an extensive list of sites located around
Boston. It also changed the project team dynamic, from a few
volunteers the effort grew to be Boston-wide. We all had the
opportunity to learn a new technology, which we anticipate can be
used in our work as landscape architects.
Most of all, it has allowed us in Boston to create a one-of-a-kind
Welcome Booth experience that familiarizes conference attendees with
the city using a thought-provoking technique, while hopefully
enhancing the way they see the same sites first hand.
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