Side Walk
Bringing community stories to life with mobile walking tours and location based augmented reality experiences
Sidewalks is a digital placemaking initiative under development by Maitree and Cahaya XR. The goal of the development is to ascertain the best model to enhance visitor experiences to heritage and tourism sites while allowing deeper connections to place, history and community.
For the project, our initial focus is a mobile app framework for location based story tours with integrated Augmented Reality (AR) features. The first iteration of Sidewalk has been produced as a Beta App and is currently undergoing testing with users in Georgetown, Penang.
Image by Moey Fuken
Outcomes
- Research and development of leading digital placemaking practises and case studies from around the world and their application in enhancing heritage and visitor experiences.
- The Beta version of Sidewalks produced and undergoing testing in Georgetown.
- Development of integrated Augmented Reality features into new placemaking experiences produced by Maitree, including the Brown’s Mart Welcome Tour, a digital heritage interpretation project.
Services
Digital Placemaking
Arts & Culture
Digital & Media
Sectors
Digital Placemaking
Arts & Culture
Digital & Media
Case Study: A street art walking tour in Georgetown, Penang
In this first iteration, we chose one of our own beautiful neighbourhoods to research and develop the Sidewalks initiative. After a focused visitor survey in Georgetown discovering there is no current clear system of navigation of one of the heritage city's most loved attractions - its vibrant street art - we decided to develop a Beta mobile app to test how digital can enhance the visitor experience.
The key features of the app we are testing include:
- A clear wayfinding function and linked directly to Google Maps allowing for visitors to easily and quickly navigate their way around the main street art sites.
- Short podcast style audio stories beautifully crafted by Maitree’s audio team and enhanced by interviews with street artists and led by local host artist Nick Pereira.
- Direct links to local businesses
- Beta function of Augmented Reality (AR) artworks embedded at different points along the tour.
Image by Moey Fuken
Images by Leigh Bramall
