Travel, transport and mobility

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We talked about transforming experiences at destinations or taking experiences to audiences at home or particular locations. What remains to be discussed is how immersive technologies can change how travellers get to destinations.

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Transport and mobility are highly affiliated with spatial navigation and orientation in the physical space. Tools such as maps help us better contextualise the physical space in which we are and configure travel from one location to another. Direction guides have evolved from printed maps to digital versions that function on the go. For example, the latest Google Maps update includes an AR feature that signposts touchpoints at indoor locations. It’s ideal for users to navigate vast and complex spaces such as airports and shopping malls.

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Stockholm Central Station, Sweden’s busiest, has introduced an interactive AR app. The app is developed by SJ Labs that allows passengers to navigate to their desired point at the station. Claes Lindholtz, the app’s director of business development and digital transformation, explains that the initial idea to incorporate immersive technologies is generated from the fact that it can be challenging to find your way around the station change trains. In addition, infrastructure maintenance also makes navigating harder.

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However, maps can offer a lot more than directions if we embed data. For example, the subway map of New York once was only a map of the railway lines, stations and connecting routes. Although, the ‘Tunnel Vision App’ has transformed the subway map into an interactive tool that also offers information about the crowd and traffic at stations, station neighbourhoods. Transport systems at smart cities destinations can benefit from employing all sorts of data in their navigation and map systems to unlock additional features for their users.

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Food and beverage

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We have talked about presenting additional layers of information through immersive technologies from cultural institutions to transport. How can that be incorporated in the food and beverage sector? Healthy eating and consciousness about food and beverage intake are trending. Consumers are curious to know more about what they are being served. Frequently, they like to personalise their Food and Beverage (F&B) to their personal liking and dietary requirement. This is where immersive technologies come in handy in contextualising nutrition information about food/beverage for consumers. They can revolutionise F&B presentation on the menus, packaging, nutrition etc. Let’s think of text-oriented menus. How can they be transformed into inclusive food guides?

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Immersive apps can solve a few problems for F&B consumers. An Embedded text-recognition system or QR scan item can simply interpret menus from one language to another. Here again, we are talking about audience and participation. Consider how much making the menu accessible to a broader audience increase the market?

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Interpretation is not limited to written language. An interactive app is a convenient way to introduce ingredients, F&B to consumers digitally. This would be especially beneficial for tourists who may not be familiar with particular cuisines worldwide. Ingredients, serving of the F&B, and portions are only a few elements that can be incorporated into immersive technology.

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Here we covered several immersive digital trends across tourism sectors. We will discuss what to consider to create and implement highly efficient immersive technologies in the upcoming posts. Stay tuned!

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