Intro
In a military first, the Royal Air Force teamed up with the Centre to create an augmented reality app for their centenary anniversary. RAF100 allows anyone with a smartphone to experience the centenary flypast through the use of augmented reality. This project connects heritage with digital technology to create an innovative interactive experience for people across the UK. The Centre connected the RAF with University of Lincoln’s School of Design, School of Computer Science and Lincoln International Business School to bring the 3D planes to life.
“It’s new and great fun. I love capturing the aircraft and then seeing them literally fly over me! Well worth having a play with.” – iOS user app review
Vision
The vision for the RAF100 app was to heighten public engagement around the RAF centenary events and celebrate the momentous anniversary. The Royal Air Force’s iconic 100 aircraft centenary anniversary flypast took place in 2018, but can still be experienced by anyone with a smart phone, wherever they are, thanks to the RAF100 AR Flypast app. Through the cameras on their devices, users can view high quality 3D aircraft models against their chosen background, bringing exhilarating Royal Air Force flypasts to life anywhere in the UK. App users can also create their own custom flypasts with aircraft of their choosing, including the Vulcan Bomber, Buccaneer and Spitfire planes. Users can select their planes, create a formation, draw their flight path and watch it unfold above them. Another exciting feature is the ability to collect and save different aircraft and view them, scaled in augmented reality, in your own in-app airfield.
The RAF100 app encourages users to directly engage with history and heritage, to bring it into their modern digital experience and to learn more about the technical specifications of the different aircraft in the app. The Centre brought together a partnership between the RAF and the University of Lincoln’s School of Design, School of Computer Science, Lincoln International Business School with further technical support from Harmony Studios. Working collaboratively, academics and students from across the schools came together to develop the concept, game mechanics and design. This ground-breaking partnership demonstrates the opportunities digital can bring for heritage. It also shows the benefits of working cross-sector, with heritage, academic and commercial players bringing different skills and experience to the project. The RAF100 AR Flypast app is free to download from the App Store and Google Play.
Project Team
Sukhy Johal MBE
Sukhy is the founding Director of the Centre. He is an all-round champion of the arts and creative thinking, and is passionate about the difference they make to lives and places.
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