AKC Museum of the Dog Augmented Reality App
Jay Miolla
Managing Director, Executive Producer, Technical Director at Gramercy Tech
End Client: American Kennel Club, Museum of the Dog
Production Client: Gensler
The Brief
The American Kennel Club commissioned a companion mobile application for the newly finished Museum of the Dog in New York City. A key insight is that breeds of canine can visually change over time. A bulldog born today can look very different than a bulldog born 100 years ago. With a vast collection of art that spans several hundred years, the client understood that a key learning moment for museum goers would center around understanding the breeds included in all of the artwork. A secondary goal of the app would be to generate excitement and moments of surprise for younger visitors.
The Approach
The app intends to provide museum goers with an in depth experience using augmented reality to highlight key components of the artwork on display. The AR overlays enable attendees to quickly identify dog breeds and learn more about them as well as take pictures with the museum mascot, Arty the virtual dog.
In addition to the AR features, the app facilitates a scavenger hunt geared towards children which leverages a bluetooth beacon infrastructure installed in the museum so users can walk to various areas and be notified to start on a scavenger hunt to find and learn about the Art. All the while collecting badges in order to redeem them for a prize.
