Revolutionising the local tourism experience with immersive tech

Three companies have each been awarded £100K to develop prototypes for innovative tourism experiences.

As part of Augment the City, an 18-month programme led by Belfast City Council’s City Innovation Office, the companies have been working with the region’s tourism partners to harness cutting edge immersive tech and wireless connectivity to develop prototypes that inspire locals and visitors alike to tell their Belfast Story.

The three companies have now made it through to the final stage, and over the next six months will turn their concepts into prototypes to be trialled in real-world settings.

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The successful companies and concepts are:

• Hamilton Robson’s Belfast Stories Generator (a collaboration with 1Up Studios and Nerve Centre) - an AI-powered interviewer and holographic interface designed to spark natural conversations and a powerful story discovery tool. The final prototype will be a scalable, searchable archive capturing authentic, unfiltered “Belfast Stories.”
• Liquid City’s Amergin will develop a simple story tool, with an AI interviewer that can aid storytelling by anyone, anywhere on their mobile device.
• Ekaterina Solomatina’s Memory Fractal Belfast will use a mixed reality experience to inspire, capture and share personal and cultural memories from lesser heard voices within our communities.

High Sheriff of Belfast, Councillor Fiona McAteer, said: “We’re a nation of storytellers. Building on this strength, Augment the City is encouraging innovators to explore how our tourism experiences can revolutionise how we share this aspect of our lives with others. I’m particularly excited about the potential of immersive tech to help lesser heard communities shape the content of new attractions.

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“It’s our goal that Belfast Stories, our landmark visitor experience, public space and creative hub which is expected to open by 2030 on Royal Avenue, will incorporate these types of innovations to make it a global destination.”

Dr Adrian Johnston MBE, Chair of the Belfast Region City Deal’s Digital Advisory Board and Innovation Commissioner for Belfast added: “Augment the City has been funded through the Digital Pillar of Belfast Region City Deal, with additional contributions from Belfast City Council. First and foremost, it’s about supporting collaborative innovation across sectors for local economic and social impact. And it’s about encouraging our SMEs and entrepreneurs to adopt digital technologies to support them on their own journey of success. From what we’ve seen from all the companies involved in Augment the City, there are some truly exciting concepts here that have the potential to go global.”

For more information on Augment the City, visit www.smartbelfast.city or on the Belfast Region City Deal programme of investment, visit www.belfastregioncitydeal.co.uk

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