By CP.

Augmented Reality (AR) is already all around us but advances in technology are allowing applications that can add a rich layer of information to every part of our day.  A local business has become the 5^th American partner of an international company that is leading the way in AR technology.

The partnership between Layar and Second | Site LLC, a local company started by three dynamic men, could have exciting implications for the Scenic City.  Already heralded for our innovations and seen as a pilot city for our revitalization efforts Chattanooga is about to be layered with links and information about everything from art to history, culture, dining and shopping.

Brooks and Max had a great adventure at the Bluff View Arts District, playing boccee ball and learning about the sculptures in the garden.

When the line of scrimmage moves on our television screen that is an example of augmented reality. The digital image (the yellow line that isn’t really on the grass) is overlayed on the image that appears on our television screen.  The new incarnation of Augmented Reality works with smart phones, sensors, cameras and GPS systems to add layers of information streaming from our smart phones.

Quilting together new and existing media with GPS-enabled smart phones adds information that brings greater context to a work of art, place, business, property or historic landmark.  Layar is an international company who operate as a browser for AR, much like we use Safari or Firefox as a browner for our internet.

ART360 Chattanooga is a pilot project that catalogs over 170 works of art in a partnership with Public Art Chattanooga, Chattanooga State Technical Community College, Hunter Museum of American Art and the Bluff View Arts District, allowing citizens and visitors to experience and learn about the work of art by quilting together web links, sites and information that appear on a smart phone.

It’s Free and it’s Fun

Layar is a free download on your smart phone.  Launching ART360 Chattanooga is another free click that circles you in your current location with the public art closest to you, complete with artist’s name, descriptions, web site links and how many feet away they are.

Wow, call me a Mom but I smelled a really fun way to learn!  Armed with a picnic basket, bocce balls, snacks, our family iPad, some markers and construction paper it was a magical afternoon.  Two second-graders, boys who love to play and run and draw, learned without even realizing it because they were having so much fun.

They read aloud from the iPad, heads touching as they eagerly soaked up the words. The combination of the outdoor play, the technology and the aesthetic beauty of the art made the experience great.   Eavesdropping was terrific and sure enough, they not only had fun, they got tired, learned about art and talked about art.

Interested in where all the public art is downtown? Just download this cool map from the City of Chattanooga's Public Art site: http://www.publicartchattanooga.com/pdfs/chattanoogamap.jpg.