Immersive technologies such as AR and VR are quickly making their way from being buzzwords in the tech market to becoming a part of every millennial’s day-to-day lingo.
Starting off as technologies specific to the field of gaming and entertainment, Augmented and Virtual Reality have really shown their versatility over the course of time and are being sought out by multinational brands from various industries, governments, and customers alike.
The technology can very easily be moulded to fit the need of fields ranging from education and training to military and healthcare, to retail and entertainment.
In the field of tourism too, the immersive nature of these technologies has shone through, allowing cities across the world revive their historical tales with the use of AR and VR features.
The past few years have witnessed cities utilising AR and VR to engage their tourists and locals alike. Today, if you do a quick search on your phone’s app store for “AR Travel” you are bound to find apps which take you around your city, the country, the world, and some even promise to take you into outer space.
But there is so much more to the Augmented Travel than just this.
In a research conducted by Prof. Murray Pittock of the University of Glasgow speaks in-depth about the use of immersive technologies such as AR & VR around Scotland and their effect of tourism.
Scotland is said to be the most-visited heritage sites in the UK and the use of AR and VR only add to the experience of the rich culture of the state. For example, the “Battle of Bannockburn” is a VR gaming setup which allows the players to engage in the historical battle from 14th Century Europe; it follows era-appropriate weapons and characters in order hold the spotlight of the significance of the war.
The game is not just a success from a technological point of view but is very popular amongst tourists as they don their 3D glasses and rage into battle the invading troops.
One of the key findings of the research highlights how important age-appropriation is when creating immersive experiences around culture and heritage.
While older generations, which serve as the key demographic to heritage sites enjoy experiences which focus on recreation, the younger generation is more comfortable with the technology and enjoy more interactive experiences through remote simulations.
This sheds light on the different ways immersive technology can add to the experience of the average visitor of such sites. Japanese artist Masaki Fujihata took one such approach towards bringing the stories of Wanchai to life.
The artist would be bringing alive scenes from the street life of the historical districts of Hong Kong through 3D animations, under a tourism project Design District Hong Kong.
Through thorough research and with the use of AR technologies, Fujihata and his team of researchers, actors, and professionals would be able to recreate scenes from the day-to-days of historical districts of Hong Kong.