[MassHistPres] Bringing photos of local buildings to life

[Lee Wright]

One of the digital "start-up" grants just announced by the National
Endowment for the Humanities (below) and a new start-up offering a free
platform/app for doing something similar: www.tagwhat.com. 
 
All very cool.  And just the kind of thing that may help connect those
(often younger) members of the community with the otherwise-unseen history
around them. 
 
Best--
 
Lee Wright | Marlborough
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City of Philadelphia, Department of Records

Project Director:  Joan Decker

To Support:  The development of prototype mobile phone applications that
would allow users to see historic photographs of Philadelphia in the actual
city locations by pointing the phone camera at the building, a technique
known as "augmented reality." This project draws on the extensive records
from the NEH-supported PhillyHistory.org database.

Award Dates:  03/01/2010 - 02/28/2011

Outright Funds: $49,885.  Matching Funds: $0

Abstract: This project will leverage recent developments in smart phone
technology to create prototype augmented reality applications to overlay
historic photos on the current urban landscape.  The project will use the
City of Philadelphia existing web-based archive of historic photographs
available at PhillyHistory.org.  Imagine pointing a smart phone at an
historic building, and then being able to view archival photographs of the
same building overlaid on the camera screen.  This innovative application
will enable students, architects, historians, tourists and other users to
view available historic photos of selected sites in conjunction with a
contemporary camera view for a learning opportunity that transcends the
traditional classroom.  The resulting applications will target the iPhone
and Android phone platforms and will be provided as free downloads through
the respective app stores, enabling Philadelphia to share its rich heritage
in an entirely new way.

Project Website: [none]

Project Whitepaper Available for Download?  [no]

 
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Lee Wright  |  Marlborough
 
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