CityAR: Wellington Exploring Cities through Mixed Realities

Abstract

This paper aims to study the potential impact of Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Realities (VAM) technologies on the built environment and to understand how immersive environments can be used to enhance the human experience within the built environment. In order to investigate and test how these technologies may improve our experience of the city, an augmented reality app is being developed in partnership with Victoria University of Wellington, the Wellington City Council and NEC, New Zealand. The research aims to explore ways in which VAM helps users in exploring cities. The philosophical driver of this project aims to focus on supporting the experience of moving between two points on a map rather than achieving the shortest route to a destination. Once developed, the project proposes the CityAR app which is to be distributed to the general public in order for them to test its functionality and in return, provide user feedback.