This project is an augmented reality reconstruction of several key landmarks that once populated the boardwalk. To celebrate the completion of the projects, Johnston and Richison will lead a multimedia walking tour of the boardwalk starting in the lobby of Convention Hall at 2:30 Sunday, June 29. Participants can expect to see full-scale 3D models of famous landmarks such as Palace Amusements, the SS Morro Castle, and the Boardwalk Carousel on their smart phones. Also taking place on Sunday is a one-day only poster exhibit in the Asbury Park Yacht Club from 3:00 to 5:00. In addition to this special launch event, Johnston and Richison will be leading tours every Sunday at 2:30 during the month of July.
Boardwalk enthusiasts do not have to attend these tours to participate in the augmented experience. The augmented content is available at any time. This project addresses the history of the Asbury Park boardwalk in a fun and visually engaging way, and it is completely free and accessible to anyone with an iPhone, Android device, or tablet with a wireless connection. Augmented reality allows people to see a three-dimensional image on the screens of their mobile devices as an overlay on top of their normal camera view. The 3D imagery can interact with a flat image called a marker or it can exist out in the open at a specific geographic location. Augmented Asbury Park uses both methods.
To take part in this free digital experience, you must first download the free mobile app Junaio, created by developer Metaio. Once Junaio is loaded, you can load the augmented content by searching for "Augmented Asbury Park" in the app's search feature or by using the app to scan the special QR code on free postcards that will be distributed on the boardwalk. Seeing it onsite is the best way to experience the project, but it also works in the comfort of your own home. The project website www.augmentedasburypark.com provides free downloadable markers that serve as portable sites for the 3D content. This enables the project to be distributed to the public off-site in the local community and schools. (Please see attached images.)
The project started with the digital reconstruction of the carousel that once stood inside the Carousel House on the boardwalk. The team was given a grant from Monmouth University to research and document the boardwalk carousel. In the 1990s, the Asbury Park boardwalk carousel was sold to Family Kingdom, an amusement park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The team traveled to Myrtle Beach to collect reference images. The carousel was photographed and reconstructed as a digital model.
Last fall, the team conducted a successful Kickstarter campaign which gave them the capital to digitally rebuild other key landmarks. Asbury Park library's large postcard collection was instrumental for gathering images of such landmark structures as Palace Amusements, The SS Morro Castle, the Natatorium, the Casino, and the Monterey Hotel. Since the fall, the team has continued their research, working with Mr. Robert Stewart of the Asbury Park Public Library, and Mr. Don Stine of the Asbury Park Historical Society. Johnston, Richison, and Vujnovic also presented the project at TEDx Navesink last May. They plan to work with other local businesses and schools and spread this project as a free educational resource.
A sneak peak of Augmented Asbury Park will be available to music fans at Asbury Lanes on Friday, June 27 at 8 PM. Local recording label Little Dickman Records will be sponsoring an evening of punk rock featuring Brooklyn-based band Dirty Fences. The lineup, curated by Asbury favorites The Battery Electric, also features local musical acts, the VanSaders and Hot Blood.
Augmented Asbury Park will be fully operational on June 29 and tours will be available every Sunday at 2:30 PM. The 3D models will be visible via the free mobile app Junaio onsite on the boardwalk and on augmented reality markers, available on the project's website www.augmentedasburypark.com starting June 29. More information on this project can also be found at the project website: www.augmentedasburypark.com, on Facebook: Augmented Asbury Park, and Instagram and Twitter: @augmentedasbury
