ethanprintz / historia

A world-scale augmented reality historical walking tour that sheds light on the history of Downtown Brooklyn through archival photographs, ambient audio, and informational signs.

Historia is an fully realized augmented reality walking tour that uses Apple's ARKit and its newly released ARGeoTracking API to create a world scale experience on the streets of Downtown Brooklyn. It has a 3D diegetic interface that integrates itself with the physical surroundings of the sidewalk to provide educational information about the neighborhood's rich history.

Across the neighborhood pops up stands that show photos, soundscapes, and videos sourced from historical archives at the New York City Historical Society, New York Public Library, New York City Transmit Museum, and Museum of the City of New York.

In addition to the information available by looking at and tapping on the 3D photo/audio/video markers (date, source, and 2-3 sentences of context), there's also in depth research presented on info boards next to the neighborhood's most notable landmarks like the demolished Albee Theater and the old City Fire Headquarters.

Through all this media and information, the walking tour attempts to shed light on the past of a neighborhood that has in recent years experienced rapid change and massive redevelopments.