3D Augmented Reality to enhance Commonwealth Games engagement

by Startacus Admin

As you have probably noticed we have had rather a lot of Glasgow themed stuff floating around Startacus this past couple of weeks - this is because July is our Glasgow startup month- a whole 4 weeks during which we are taking an extra close look at Scotland’s largest city and the startups, people, places and events that make it the great self starter city that it is.

As if this weren't exciting enough, something else rather special is also happening in Glasgow this month. We are talking of course about the Commonwealth Games which kicks off on the 23rd July. It is the world’s second biggest sporting event (after the Olympics) and the largest cultural event ever to be staged in Scotland. As much as the city is viewing this as a great opportunity to promote and develop its sporting and cultural heritage, there have also been attempts to ensure that the games give a little extra nudge of encouragement to the local business and startup community, especially digital innovators.

IC Mobile Lab and their 3D augmented reality product PrintAR is one such startup - they have just won the ‘Glasgow 2014 Digital Sprint’ competition. Through this competition the games organisers and Enterprise Scotland challenged the digital business community to develop new ways for the public to engage with the global event taking place on their door step. Dozens of ideas were submitted but in the end it was the small team of Glasgow startup ICMobile lab and their innovative technology which nabbed the prize.

These guys plan to use 3D augmented reality technology to develop an app which would allow the public to activate hidden content through their smartphone by using the camera by taking pictures of Games LOOK banners which will be on display across Scotland.

What on earth is 3D augmented reality technology?

It’s really much less complicated than it sounds - basically 3D augmented reality is a live view of a physical, real-world environment in which the elements are supplemented by computer generated graphics or data. Imagine using the camera on your smartphone to view say a tree, and the image on your screen displays information about the tree you are looking at or inserts graphics into the scene.

As the winning team, IC Mobile Lab have been awarded £30,000 to bring their idea to life, as well as tailored business support from Scottish Enterprise and Business Gateway as part of their prize.

Lee McLaughlin, the founder and lead app developer of IC Mobile Lab told us:

“We’re really excited to have won the Digital Sprint competition, and can think of no better way to launch our PrintAR platform than by being part of Scotland’s biggest ever sporting and cultural event.

We hope our project will help enhance people’s experience of the games on two levels. Firstly, fans can scan banners situated around Scotland to unlock the mascot Clyde doing various sports, and then view him in 3D through their phones via augmented reality. We hope that this adds another way for fans to take part in the Games; regardless of where they are or whether they have a ticket or not, it adds a bit of fun to the experience for all ages.

Secondly - for those lucky enough to be going to events - the ability to view selected venues in 3D on an actual ticket lets fans take a bit of Glasgow home with them. Tickets are always cherished because it’s a reminder of a great time someone has had, and our app hopefully gives it a little something extra”

If like IC Mobile Lab you have got a great startup why not showcase it in our collaboration space, and don’t forget to check out the other stuff we have featured so far during our Glasgow startup month.

August is our Manchester Startup month, check out how you can get involved.

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• #glasgow
• #commonwealth games
• #glasgow startup
• #3d augmented reality

Published on: 17th July 2014