Mediapro, Telefónica and TMB: first augmented reality project on 5G on a tourist bus

Named 5G Augmented Tourism, This project is being tested on two tourist buses that travel around Montjuïc mountain. (Barcelona), allows users to view content on an interactive transparent screen superimposed on the landscape or monuments in real time.

The companies Mediapro Group, Telefónica and Metropolitan Transport of Barcelona (Transports Metropolitans – TMB) have developed 5G Augmented Tourism, the first 5G augmented reality project that allows passengers of a tourist bus to view immersive content in the front window of the vehicle, superimposed on the landscape or monuments they observe while taking a tour.

The project 5G Augmented Tourism It was presented yesterday during a tour of Montjuïc mountain (Barcelona) in which users of the Barcelona Tourist Bus (BBT) from TMB have been able to live a different tourist experience, enhanced thanks to augmented reality content with data and information about the places visited.

The new 5G mobile networks allow the download in real time of geolocated content associated with the places through which the tourist route passes. These augmented contents are displayed on a transparent and interactive screen, located in the front window of the vehicle, so that rich and interactive multimedia content is superimposed on the reality that is observed through the glass..

Thanks to it, Users can see the Montjuïc fountains turned on (even if it is not the time of the function) and get information about buildings, monuments or places they are passing through at that moment: from the old amusement park and the Olympic area to navigate between the CaixaFòrum exhibitions and the works of the Lliure Theater or the Flower Market… and all this in motion.

This pilot, developed within the framework of the 5GBarcelona initiative, demonstrates how the generation of content in augmented reality on 5G in mobility offers new scenarios for content consumption and entertainment, beyond the devices that are now known.

Thanks to connected vehicles and high mobile connectivity, it is now possible to offer this type of experiences to public transport passengers., while, in the future, The autonomous car will also open a wide range of possibilities for consuming mobility content within the cars themselves..

Contents, networks and mobility

Each of the parties has contributed their experience to the pilot. So, The Mediapro Group has designed the experience, selected and generated all the tourist information of the key points and developed the software and augmented reality content. It has also been in charge of installing the latest generation transparent screens on the two tourist buses..

For your part, Telefónica has set up a high-speed 5G network that provides large download and upload bandwidth, which allows the improvement of the quality of the contents, the massification of consumption in mobility, hyperlocal content, as well as real-time broadcasts.

In addition, as intelligence and content reside at the edge of the network (ability Edge Computing) the cost is reduced for the devices that consume said content, becoming a more scalable solution. Edge Computing is a new network capability that improves latency and allows content to be, applications, computing and artificial intelligence close to the user who consumes it.

For your part, TMB has enabled two tourist buses to make the use of this technology possible. Thus, New possibilities are explored so that other attractions are added to the tourist and cultural experience of the BBT, as those that allow enrichment, thanks to augmented reality, a greater knowledge of the environment through which the trip is taking place on board.