The Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem has introduced a new way to tell a story, through augmented reality and innovative mixed reality technologies. The Museum‘s innovation lab is pleased to present MARS – Mixed and Augmented Reality Storytellers.
Visitors to the Tower of David Museum are invited to immersive themselves in history thanks to an innovative new storytelling method. MARS (Mixed and Augmented Reality Storytellers) allows guests to take a selfie with King David, take part in the ’67 war ‘dog fights’ and even dust off ancient scrolls. They can also feel Roman arrows raining around them, and be a spectator at the battle of David and Goliath.
Mars is a storytelling company that uses personalised AR and mixed reality technology to create new experiences. These can be tailored to appeal to a wide range of visitors, from families and young children to adults.
Immersive storytelling
Cutting-edge technology is used to present the experience through tablets and earphones. Mars also includes data analysis and machine learning in order to present content tailored to the visitor. The personalised experience takes place in real-time and adapts to the path taken by the visitor.
Mars lets museum guests explore key moments in Jerusalem’s history by creating layers of AR around them, depicting ancient events and reconstructing important moments through time. The fully-personalised mixed reality experience allows visitors to ‘drop-in’ to these moments and to become part of the story.
“Mixed & Augmented Reality is a significant technological jump compared to the familiar and popular Virtual Reality technology,” says Ori Noam, founding partner and CEO, Mars. “In Virtual Reality, users wear 3D glasses which separate them completely from their physical surroundings and cut the connection with their sensory surroundings.
“In contrast, in Mixed and Augmented Reality, the users are present in the experience of the actual site around them – in this instance the Tower of David – on which the figures, buildings and stories are layered in 3D which allows the virtual content to exist together with the actual surroundings through use of the most advanced technologies and animation techniques.”
Enhancing the visitor experience
The Innovation Lab at the museum, with the support of the Jerusalem Development Authority, brings together start-ups, investors and technology companies, in order to develop new ways to improve the visitor experience. The Tower of David Museum is one of the only museums in the world to have such a resource, and the solutions provided by the Innovation Lab enable visitors to enjoy a fully-immersive experience.
“For quite some time, we have been looking for innovative, engaging and exciting ways to make the Tower of David Museum and the history of Jerusalem and its stories more accessible to the wide and varied audience that visitors the Museum every year,” says Eilat Lieber, Director of the Tower of David Museum.
“Israel is the high-tech leader in many fields, but the world of historical and archaeological content has remained on the back burner. The Innovation Lab of the Tower of David Museum is dedicated to the development of experiences for visitors and works with innovative technologies in order to enrich the experience and to illustrate content in a creative manner.
“The impressive archaeological garden, the exhibition halls, the 360-degree panoramic view over the city, the “Kishle” which was built in 1834, pools from the time of Herod, secret passages and rooftops of various heights, all these make the Tower of David an excellent test site for innovative technology, which digitally and interactively enriches the experience of the visitor.”
