Augmented reality brings the story of this Mughal imperial tent to life.
UX, Animation, Development
Toronto
Royal Ontario Museum
2019
Lal Dera - The Red Tent
This Augmented Reality exhibit was part of the larger ROM exhibit Treasures of a Desert Kingdom: The Royal Arts of Jodhpur, India. The AR-enabled iPads were mounted directly outside the tent which, when activated, gave visitors a glimpse into the life of a 17th-century Mughal Emperor.
Life of a 17th-century emperor
How the tent would have been used, and those who would have inhabited it is shown via animations created from period paintings of the era from the ROM's collection. In addition, several objects that would have been present in the tent can be explored which trigger animations showing their use.
Tent as AR anchor
We used Apple ARKit 2 and Unity to bring the tent to life. ARKit 2 allowed us to be able to use the tent itself as the world anchor through the use of the Persistent AR capability of ARKit 2. This means that no matter where the iPad camera is viewing, it knows how and where to place the characters to complete the illusion that the objects exist within the tent. Other features we built included the occlusion of the characters based on the known placement of foreground objects such as the vertical tent posts.
“Working with Ken and the team at Meld has been an absolute pleasure. They are reliable, highly skilled and dedicated to true client happiness. Their ability to balance the technical build, while keeping user experience top of mind is effective in driving a superior level of confidence in the final product. They care deeply about your success and you can always count on them, no matter the challenge you put in front of them.”
