MONTERREY OBELISK

EXPLORA LOGO DEVELOPMENT

MEXICAN GOVERNMENT

APP GAME AND UI DEVELOPMENT

Pixeldust worked with the Nuevo León government in Mexico to create a historical location-based experience, combining a physical design installation with AR technology to enrich the lives of people who visit Nuevo León.

THE CENTER OF DEVELOPMENT

Monterrey’s famous obelisk stands in the middle of a vibrant downtown area. The experience is placed in the center of a traffic circle where thousands of people commute daily. The obelisk attracts visitors of all kinds, locals and tourists alike. This made the obelisk a perfect place to create the digital attraction, increasing the value of this landmark by creating a unique AR experience that entertains and educates visitors.

Information about each Municipio was delivered when the visitors of the Battle for Survival interacted with trigger cards strategically distributed along the periphery of the roundabout. Visitors navigated with their iOS or Android mobile devices and would experience the different stages of the experience as they found the various trigger markers.

The free mobile app includes more information about the various municipalities. By pointing your camera to the different labels in the roundabout, it triggers historical and economic data, comparisons, and photos of each Municipio. Entertainment content like trivia, mini-games, and a magazine with articles about gastronomy, museums, and other attractions enriches the overall experience and provides a longer shelf life to the app. It also includes an AR virtual 3D distance and direction calculator to measure the distance to any given Municipio. The AR experience combined with the standalone application lets visitors discover the rich history of the Nuevo León state.

To attract younger visitors and enhance the experience at the Monterrey obelisk, Pixeldust proposed the installation of a colorful interactive water fountain and a circular array of small totem structures around the obelisk dedicated to each of the Nuevo León municipalities. Pixeldust opted to augment the locale with informational plaques that can be interacted with via smartphones, prompting users to download a custom mobile app that provides a more profound experience. The design team took great care not to overwhelm the space, making plaques around the circle which are readily visible on foot but not obtrusive from a distance.

Pixeldust illustrated and designed these interactive plaques, which provide basic information about the municipalities in the state. These plaques also offer a Braile strip for the visually challenged and are used as AR triggers with the Explora app. Fifty-one plaques surround the obelisk, giving visitors a wealth of history to explore, which is further enhanced by the custom-developed mobile app, which offers a deeper dive into the region’s history. At night, glowing water fountains erupt around the obelisk, giving visitors a spectacular contemporary view of the historic roundabout. Pixeldust installed LED arrays with customizable light patterns that keep the experience fresh and updatable for future events. Children especially enjoy running through these glowing water fountains.