A new mobile app shows what the future will look like for Hämeenkatu, the main street of Tampere, once the tram starts running as part of the city’s transport system.
The app runs on Android and is available in the Play store under the name Tampere AR.
After the app opens and establishes your location, you can see in your phone’s camera view how the tram moves on the tracks in Keskustori square and opposite Stockmann department store. The app makes use of AR (augmented reality) technology by bringing 3D models of the tram and track as part of the real urban environment.
The app also includes a video, in which the tram runs in the phone’s camera view.
“The tram construction site made it more difficult to move around the city centre, especially for pedestrians and cyclists. The purpose of the experiment was to give city residents a chance to peek into the future and see what the tram will really look like in the city, thereby familiarising people with the tram and making it part of the Tampere cityscape,” says Project Manager Anni Joela.
Turning new, fast-developing technology and a 3D model of the City of Tampere into a functional mobile app was not without challenges; in addition to producing the finished app, the co-creation project provided a valuable lesson in finding creative solutions. The City of Tampere gained a better understanding of the challenges in using the city’s 3D model. The AR technology is still fairly new and vulnerable, and challenges resulting from this were resolved throughout the project.
“We learned a huge amount from the project. Not just from the problems, but also by experimenting with various technologies, light implementation of 3D models, new ways of implementing moving animations outdoors and indoors as well as the opportunities and challenges of a three-dimensional point cloud,” says Pihla Rostedt, CEO of Stellarion Oy.
The experiment process involved testing several positioning solutions. When Immersal released the first version of a platform in which content can be positioned using a point cloud, we started testing it immediately. It proved a viable solution, and the app was created on the basis of Immersal’s 3D positioning. The app’s platform could possibly also be used for other purposes requiring point cloud positioning.
The technology allows for very interesting implementations.
“Despite the challenges, the implementation became a real attraction for our showcases. I think that assimilating this technology was our most important achievement in years. We also gained an interesting reference and can now offer the point cloud-based solutions of the Tampere AR app for other use,” Pihla Rostedt says happily.
The AR app presenting the future of Hämeenkatu and the tram was developed as part of the Smart Tampere programme’s 6Aika: Ecosystem of Guidance project. The app was developed by Stellarion Oy in cooperation with DOTS studio.
Photo: Stellarion Oy
Additional information:
Anni Joela
Project Manager
Smart Tampere
+358 40 721 9867
anni.joela@tampere.fi
