Germany: Augmented Reality App to Bring Historic Landmark of Hamburg’s Speicherstadt Digitally to Life
Blooming Future by Timo Helgert
Chinese tech company HONOR (formerly part of Huawei) today during IFA 2022 in Berlin announced its “Gateway to the Future” initiative, in the scope of which it wants to bring to life the historic Wasserschloss in Hamburg’s Speicherstadt warehouse district through a digital experience via augmented reality (AR).
“As a global technology company, HONOR is committed to developing smart device technology which enables people to celebrate and experience cultural treasures from the past while also discovering the possibilities of the future,” said George Zhao, CEO of HONOR Device Co, Ltd. “We predict the rise of AR and AI technologies being used to create even more phy-gital experiences for smartphone users around the world, contributing to the hybrid tourism boom. Beyond tourism, this technology has the potential to benefit a number of other industries and communities. It really is the Gateway to the Future.”
Sailing Through Time by Yunuene
For the pilot project in Hamburg, HONOR teamed up with the AR & VR app and game development company ARLOOPA and the two contemporary artists Yunuene and Timo Helgert, who converted the well-known Hamburg building, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popularly used as an image motif on social media platforms, into AR. Thanks to the AR app, visitors and tourists can rediscover the building, which was built between 1905 and 1907 and used to house port employees in the past and now houses a restaurant, in a modern and creative way. To use the AR application, users need to download the free ARLOOPA app. On site, they can then start the AR experience from the Poggenmühlen Bridge opposite the building. (eap)
