Charleston, SC will be the site of a new tech pilot project to bring the future of the city to life with augmented reality (AR) via inCitu, a startup that democratizes urban planning by turning city planning data into accessible, smartphone-based AR experiences.

CHARLESTON, S.C. and NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ – Charleston, SC will be the site of a new tech pilot project to bring the future of the city to life with augmented reality (AR) via inCitu, a startup that democratizes urban planning by turning city planning data into accessible, smartphone-based AR experiences. Although urban development information is publicly available, too often the open data is inaccessible or indecipherable to the average person. By putting the future of the city in the palm of residents' hands on the street, Charleston is becoming actively transparent, boosting the accessibility and inclusivity of open data to improve local conversations around urban change.

In beautiful, historic Charleston, there's a major initiative under way to protect the city from flooding. Proposed development of the perimeter protection barrier has been met with lively debate from citizens who care passionately about how it will appear. Using InCitu's AR tool, residents would be able to scan a QR code on-site and see the proposed designs in real-scale, as if it is built.

"People assume the worst until they have an opportunity to view new buildings or large-scale infrastructure projects with their own eyes. The community can use their phones and see proposed building designs for themselves" said Paul Turner, CEO of Virtual America, a local Charleston-based start-up technology company specializing in virtual and augmented reality for applications showcasing art, architecture and history. "This is an easy-to-use low friction way to allow local advocacy groups and individual citizens to see and provide direct and immediate feedback to architects or commercial developers on their plans for new building and infrastructure projects throughout the City of Charleston. Also to allow City leaders and associated oversight organizations to quickly gather citizen comments beyond the traditional town hall or oversight board meeting format.

Ben Davis, CEO of MOODOG, an established local animation and interactive experience studio with content produced for Peacock, Kennedy Space Center, SC Aquarium, Patriots Point, and many more, states that "Bringing data to life for the community in this way allows everyone to be part of the story - which is our mission! From here, we can imagine a multitude of both serious and fun interactions that will accelerate understanding and communication."

As cities create digital replicas of their urban centers, adapting technology into the existing city planning processes to handle real time 3D data will be a commonplace challenge. Although urban development information is publicly available, too often the open data is inaccessible or indecipherable to the average person. Cities like Charleston are leading the way for smart, democratic cities that streamline the time and costs it takes to plan and build for a sustainable, safe, and equitable future for all. For more info on these projects follow @incitu_ar on instagram

About inCitu:

inCitu is a New York-based technology company delivering on a mission to bring future cities to life via augmented reality (AR). It empowers residents, industry professionals, and decision makers to collaborate on the process of urban change. inCitu turns proposed and upcoming development information from private and public resources into a real-scale AR experience, available to anyone with a smartphone. To date it has worked on more than 4,000 construction sites in New York, California and beyond.

Moondog Animation Studio is an entertainment studio located in Charleston that has a track record of producing exceptional story-driven experiences. They utilize cutting-edge technology in the fields of animation and interactive experiences, ranging from screens to large-scale location-based entertainment venues. They incorporate technologies such as AR, VR, AI, projection mapping, human input interaction, blockchain, and more.

Virtual America is a Charleston-based technology company focused on researching and developing virtual and augmented reality applications showcasing the creative work of artists, historic preservationists, architects, museum curators and local/regional tour guides and storytellers.