‘Immersive Mode’: An AR Experience for the City Sightseeing Bus Tours, Glasgow
Recap
Back in early 2020, the Industry announced a new fund to boost Glasgow’s Economy- The Glasgow Collaboration Fund. The collaboration fund was announced to help Glasgow’s industry work together in inspiring ways to develop and deliver an enhanced visitor experience. The Fund intended to support the development of new products, experiences or initiatives in the city and region. Yours truly, SENSEcity happened to be the first recipient of this fund in collaboration with the iconic City Sightseeing Bus Tours Glasgow!
Iconic City Sightseeing Bus back on the streets of Glasgow
OUR IDEA
The idea was to make the City Sightseeing Bus experience in Glasgow very dynamic and elevate the customer’s journey while they explore the city. Through Immersive Storytelling and leveraging Augmented Reality technology, we want to enhance the visitor experience and attract new audiences for Glasgow’s City Sightseeing Bus Tour. Through the support of this fund, we are developing and user testing a prototype mobile AR application. It’s called- IMMERSIVE MODE!
THE PROTOTYPE
In the pilot, AR content takes two primary forms — contextual old photos and 3D reconstructed architecture and animation. After careful study of existing offerings and multiple discussions with West Coast Motors, we are designing 2 kinds of experiences for visitors:
- Hop-On AR Experiences
- Hop-Off AR Experiences
Basically, the app introduces moments of surprises for the visitors when they ‘Hop On’ and also when they ‘Hop Off’ to wander about the destinations and landmarks. The ‘Hop-On AR’ AR Experience reveals old photographs and archive videos based on GPS Tracking to create meaningful experiences throughout the bus journey. Imagine crossing the Rotunda on the bus, and seeing how it looked in the yesteryears while it operated a carriage lift for the tunnel under the River Clyde! The Hop-Off Experience encourages users to Hop-Off the bus and wander to unveil more stories in Augmented Reality. 2 destinations within the prototype will have 3D Animations that will come to life when scanning the key landmarks.
USERS, USERS, USERS…
We love designing a good user experience. Users are at the centre of this whole experience. Our User Interaction Designer; Jaynish Shah has been working on multiple iterations of the user journey for the app. More on the designs in the next blog but for now, here is a glimpse of some Work in progress screens from the app’s prototype.
“‘We are excited to work with SENSEcity towards creating a unique AR- bus tour experience for City Sightseeing Glasgow. An AR-based travel app can come in handy for our customers and elevate their experience not only while they are on the bus but also when they hop off at various destinations across Glasgow.’”
“‘Through the Experience Glasgow Collaboration Fund, SENSEcity is exploring how Augmented Reality can be leveraged to share meaningful experiences and immersive storytelling for the customers of City Sightseeing Tours, Glasgow, bringing history alive in an innovative and digital way. Experience Glasgow is delighted to be a supporting partner through our fund which aims to develop new and exciting experiences in Glasgow. ”
COVID-19 AND IT’S IMPACT
Due to the pandemic, the project naturally paused as City Sightseeing repurposed their fleets to help Glasgow cope with transporting essentials within Scotland. Eighteen months on from the beginning of the pandemic, and with City Sightseeing’s tours having been given the green light to go ahead within Glasgow once again, we are now resuming the project and excited to test the prototype with CSG’s customers later this year.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Author
Pooja Katara: Founder and Director of SENSEcity
With Special Thanks to
Sharon Morrison-Communications Director, West Coast Motors
SallyAnn Tindall- Senior Project Manager, Scottish Enterprise
Daniel McIntyre- Experience Glasgow
Judith Eckford, Business Support Manager - Experience Glasgow
Zachary Sorrells: From the Startup Sales Lab - our business and sales advisor
About Glasgow Collaboration Fund
SENSEcity was the first recipient of the Glasgow Collaboration Fund. . You can find out more about Experience Glasgow here.
Contact Details
For any enquiry related to the Immersive Mode Project; or if you would be interested in developing an AR app for your own destination/tour, please contact: pooja@sensecity.co