Old meets new – The Georgians and augmented reality
Augmented reality experts Aligned Assets have produced an app for those attending the festival, which celebrates Georgian Britain. This will help people find their way to the various festival locations within the town of Stamford, and locate facilities such as parking and toilets. The Georgian Festival app will give a summary of each location, events held there, and offer the ability to click through to the festival website for more information. (Stamford Georgian Festival Website)
The app is available free from the Google Play Store, simply search Georgian Festival or click here.
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Aligned Assets is using augmented reality and the Ordnance Survey’s AddressBase Premium dataset to give festival-goers the next generation of mapping technology. While most people are now familiar with the electronic 2D maps available on their smart phones, these still share many of the limitations found in paper maps. Someone reading a map still needs to interpret it to get their bearings. While the smart phone can use GPS to show the user’s position on the map, this does not overcome confusion when navigating in open spaces or busy intersections.
Aligned Assets’ augmented reality app uses a smart phone’s internal navigation capability and its camera to determine where a person is, which direction they are facing and where the location of interest is in relation to them. It then places a computer-generated image of the point of interest in its exact position relative to the person – even if this is behind nearer buildings. The coordinates of the location of interest are derived from the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) https://www.geoplace.co.uk/addresses/uprn used in the Ordnance Survey’s AddressBase Premium dataset. The image will also vary in size based on how close it is to the person.
A person using the app simply points their phone around them to work out what is nearby and uses it to navigate to the place they want to visit. They can also interact with the image by clicking on it to find out more about the point of interest.
For example, if a festival visitor wished to see vocal group HMS Welland performing at Browne’s Hospital http://www.stamfordgeorgianfestival.co.uk/events/23rd-september/hms-welland/, the app would indicate the direction of the venue, displaying an icon which would increase in size as they neared it. Clicking on the icon would then provide details of performances at the venue, times and ticket prices.
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