With the latest innovation in the app industry, Scotland becomes the first country to use the Augmented Reality (AR) app to showcase its landscapes and other attractive locations on smartphones. The Portal AR app for Scotland is developed by a creative marketing agency named Whitespace in Edinburgh along with the team of ‘Scotland Is Now’ in 10 weeks.
The app development is a result of collaboration between the Government of Scotland, several universities of Scotland, Scotland enterprises and VisitScotland. The app was launched on iOS and Android platforms and made available to users starting 6th June 2018. You can download the Portal AR app from iTunes and Google Play. As many as 100 million devices that support AR apps can download it at the moment, and Google has promised to extend the devices that can support AR apps.
In the words of Fiona Hyslop, Secretary of External Affairs, “Our country is recognized globally for its heritage, breathtaking scenery and warm welcome. But Scotland is so much more: a modern, pioneering, dynamic and progressive nation.”
Therefore, this app aims to bring various other unexplored aspects of Scotland to people.
Augmented Reality is the latest technology that provides an interactive experience of the surrounding environment. These little elements of the real world are augmented or increased through computer-generated perceptions. It includes auditory, visual, somatosensory, olfactory and haptic sensory modalities, hence, providing a highly “augmented” experience to the users. Thus, it is safe to say that this Augmented Reality app will revolutionize the way people perceive Scotland.
As quoted by Eva Kwiecinska, the senior marketing manager of VisitScotland, “AR is an innovative way to let people from anywhere in the world experience Scotland from the palm of their hands and learn more about the country in a unique and interactive way.”
What makes the app unique is the possibility that it provides to the users of visiting various destinations within the country on their phone screens. Users as such can get a firsthand experience of sublime Scotland.
A professor from the Scotland University remarked on the visual experience that users are bound to experience through this extraordinary app. He went on to say that people can now actually experience and get a sense of everything this country encompasses through their display screens.
In a few words, this app has opened doors for people to explore everything a country has to offer from the comfort of their homes. The future of Augmented Reality seems quite promising in the context of this groundbreaking app!
