SMEs unveil winning tech prototypes in Augment the City competition

Three immersive tech prototypes that could enhance the visitor experience at tourism venues like future landmark attraction, Belfast Stories, have been unveiled at a special industry event in City Hall, celebrating the successful completion of the ‘Augment the City’ Challenge competition.

Led by Belfast City Council and funded by the Belfast Region City Deal, ‘Augment the City’ supported local SMEs to explore the future role of immersive technologies in visitor experiences.

The £575,000 Challenge Fund provided a range of funding, skills development and business support to people working in Belfast’s innovation and creative industries sectors to help build their capacity in using and exploring emerging technologies.

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Marking the final stage of the competition, the three successful companies that received £100,000 towards developing their prototypes, unveiled these and shared insights on what they could offer to local tourism and heritage organisations. 

They are:

• Hamilton Robson’s Belfast Stories Generator (a collaboration with 1Up Studios and the Nerve Centre) - an AI-powered interviewer and holographic interface designed to spark natural conversations coupled with a powerful story discovery tool. The prototype is a scalable, searchable archive capturing authentic, unfiltered “Belfast Stories”.
• 'Life Stories’ by Liquid City is a free mobile app featuring an AI interviewer, to help people capture and share their memories. The interviewer asks thoughtful, adaptive questions and shapes responses into personal narratives, written in the user's own words. Stories can be kept private, shared with friends and family, or added to a growing public archive. The platform has already collected hundreds of stories and offers new possibilities for public storytelling, immersive exhibitions and memory collection across the city. Try the app at https://lifestory.liquid.city
• Ekaterina Solomatina’s Memory Fractal – combining mixed reality and 5G technology to create a narrative sculpture, offering a new way of digital storytelling about the city’s vibrant artistic heritage. As well as visitors experiencing the space they are physically in, they will interact with virtual 3D-scanned and community gathered story-sculptures.

The industry event also saw the announcement of the major new Belfast Region City Deal Challenge programme. Further information will be shared on Belfast City Council’s website and social media in coming months.

Welcoming participating SMEs, tourism and heritage organisations and others to City Hall, Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Paul Doherty, said: “I’m delighted to attend this Augment the City ‘Celebrations and Insights’ industry event to hear more about this fantastic competition over the last 18 months and see the final three companies’ exciting immersive tech prototypes, designed to enhance the visitor experience at tourism attractions like Belfast Stories.

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“Augment the City encouraged innovators to explore how tech can revolutionise our tourism experiences. It’s our goal that Belfast Stories, our landmark public space, visitor experience and creative hub which is expected to open by 2030 on Royal Avenue, will incorporate these types of innovations to make it a truly 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.”

More information on Augment the City can be found at www.smartbelfast.city or on the Belfast Region City Deal programme of investment, visit www.belfastregioncitydeal.co.uk

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