Smartphones give 'augmented reality' view of urban plans

New augmented reality technology takes designs of proposed building developments and transposes them onto a smartphone or similar device.

Developed at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, a town planner could then view the design at the site of any proposed development to see if it is appropriate for the environment it is to be built in.

Examples of recent Finnish applications are the virtual presentations for a tower block and a projected hotel to city officials. In both cases the VTT-developed technology was used to place a sketch of the building in its natural environment. The same images could be examined on site by using, among other means, a smart phone camera display.

According to VTT’s Charles Woodward the new virtualisation tool - a combination of video and mobile games technology plus positioning software - brings broadened perspectives not only to the work of architects and planners but also to the full range of urban planning and related decision-making.