Those of you who came along to the Solihull: Back to the Future event at the Core Theatre on 17th September, will have seen our Augmented Reality (AR) pilot, which saw us project an augmented reality version of Solihull Manor House in 1948 onto an apparently empty table. It’s now available for you to have a go with yourself…
Viewing on a mobile device
If you’re reading this on the mobile device:
- Click on the link below to open the Manor House AR on your smartphone or tablet.
- You will need the free Adobe Aero app, so will be prompted to download it if it isn’t already installed.
Open the Manor House AR on my smartphone or tablet
If you’re reading this on a computer but have the mobile device with you:
- Open the camera on a smartphone or tablet and photograph the QR code below.
- You should then be prompted to download and install the free Adobe Aero app if it’s not already on your device.
The app should start loading the AR experience, and then ask you to slowly pan your device around so that it can find horizontal surfaces. Once found, it will ask you tap to anchor the experience to the surface. Then you should be able to use your device to move around the outside of the building.
Viewing on a computer
Unfortunately, because you need to be able to install the Adobe Aero app and move the screen/camera around, you can’t effectively access the Manor House AR as an actual augmented reality experience from a computer.
However, you can see what it would look like, as this short video taken at the Core Library demonstrates.
Anyone who was in the Core at the time this video was taken would just have seen someone pointing a phone at the apparently empty table for 30 seconds… it’s mind-boggling!
We are experimenting with what else may be possible by using augmented reality with local history, so watch this space for further updates.
If you do have any ideas, then please get in touch!
Tracey
Library Specialist: Heritage & Local Studies
email: heritage@solihull.gov.uk
tel.: 0121 704 6977
Solihull Life 
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