August 31, 2021 | By Bronwen Largier
In collaboration with Tourism Australia and an extended reality company, Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC) has launched a life-size, photorealistic tour of their venue through an app called GCCECXR.
The app allows users to superimpose a virtual model of the venue onto a surface in their immediate environment. All parts of the venue are included in the experience, including exhibition halls, the arena and a set-up for a gala dinner.
The project was supported by Tourism Australia through its Business Events Boost Program and built by Handbuilt Creative. It follows on from the immersive 360 degree virtual tour of GCCEC, also funded through Tourism Australia’s domestic marketing program.
“Site tours are one of our key selling tools and with many clients unable to travel due to current regulations, we’ve developed new ways to allow them to view the venue from their own home or office,” said GCCEC Director of Sales and Marketing, Michelle Mann.
“But this mixture of the virtual and real-world is by far the most exciting.
“Of course, nothing replaces coming to the destination, face to face, tasting our food and meeting the team, but this tool provides an excellent first experience,” she said.
“Domestic event activity is critical to getting the industry back on its feet while international travel has been on hold, and innovative projects like the GCCECXR experience help to encourage a restart to face-to-face business events,” said Robin Mack, Executive General Manager of Commercial and Business Events Australia at Tourism Australia.
“This is certainly one of the most advanced XR projects we’ve created so far, with the Handbuilt team pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in next-gen augmented reality worldwide,” said Founder and Creative Director of Handbuilt Creative, David Shering.
“GCCECXR is the world’s biggest 1:1 scale photorealistic XR experience as it’s over 200m long, 70m wide and 14m high. Its colossal size, and the fact you can walk anywhere to explore even small details, means you feel like you’re actually there.”