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AR Is Transforming Tech. What Can It Do for Cities?
If it isn’t already there, augmented reality is coming to a device near you. Cities need to work to ensure that AR makes the leap from “cool experience,” to a technology that improves residents’ lives
By Stephen Goldsmith and Chris Bousquet
As today’s cities look for better ways to use the troves of new data at their disposal, augmented reality (AR) offers a new way of bringing this data to life. This technology — which assimilates digital objects and information into the real world via headsets, mobile devices, and other tech tools — has a unique capacity to enliven information and processes via immersive experiences.
AR has captured the public imagination in the form of Pokémon games, Snapchat filters, Minecraft demos, and much more. However, applying this tech to a less sexy task — seamlessly integrating data into everyday experiences — could provide much more concrete value to cities.
In 2016, as a part of its City Science initiative, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab collaborated with the City of Hamburg on a project called Finding Places, using optically-tagged LEGO bricks, simulation algorithms, and augmented reality…
