Dubai gets a tailored augmented reality app that provides real-time travel and Covid information
Like many things that have been changed by the coronavirus, the men behind a new augmented reality travel app for Dubai had to think of a new game plan after the pandemic struck.
When developers Ahmad Daneshwar and Daniel Ashtari first started work on Epic Reality in 2012, they wanted to revolutionise the way people travelled. Using the power of AR, their app would give users real-time updates, such as ticket or table availability, when they pointed their smartphone camera at a specific location.
But, by the time they secured funding and were ready to launch last year, the travel industry had been upended.
“The entire tourism industry shut down worldwide overnight. We had to rethink the strategy. So we spent a couple of months back at the drawing board,” recalls Kareem Elsirafy, managing partner at Modus Capital, which funded the project.
“We didn’t want to pivot away entirely from the core focus of the app, which is leveraging AR to discover awesome things to do. So we came up with a new idea. We knew Covid was here to stay and it’s going to be part of our lives for a long time.
“So, we thought, why don’t we make it functional? Why don’t we support people in the reopening process of the tourism industry by giving additional information that’s pertinent to what they want to do?” Elsirafy says.
Launched earlier this month in Dubai, Epic Reality is a city guide that provides real-time updates, as well as information related to Covid-19 health precautions. By pointing a phone’s camera at a location, users can browse a listing of nearby activities, events, sightseeing spots, malls and restaurants. They can then learn about each location’s health and safety protocols, from social distancing and face mask policies to seating capacity and temperature checks.
The app then uses data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) together with a proprietary algorithm to generate a Covid-19 Risk Score for each location. This pertains to the app’s unofficial scoring system. “We consider seven indexes for each activity or location and assign some weight to each index.
“These are the most important items that the WHO has determined as risk factors. By considering these indexes, we calculate the risk factors of each activity or location,” explains Daneshwar.
The developers also hope to partner with Dubai tourism and health authorities to improve the app. Dubai was not the initial choice for Epic Reality’s launch, but became the ideal location once the new strategy was in place, says Elsirafy. “We planned initially on New York, because we have an office there. We decided on Dubai later because it was the leader in containing the outbreak as well as the leader in opening the economy back up,” he says.
“From an economic and opportunity perspective, Dubai is the right location for Epic Reality to be able to provide value.”
Co-developer Ashtari says the app has the potential to become a major social media platform. “It was always part of the original vision to turn it into something much bigger.
For example, Clubhouse targeted an audience that Instagram did not. AR technology is something we don’t have on social media yet,” he explains.
“Users can create events on different locations and others can see the events and join, for instance. They can also add costs, comments, offers and even targeted ads. This is why this platform has so much potential.”
The app is currently available in Dubai, with plans to launch it across the UAE in the near future. Major cities in the Middle East, the US and Europe will also be added to Epic Reality, its founders say. “Our app was originally for tourists, to help them navigate, discover activities and book tours. Then Covid hit. But we turned the situation around and turned the threat into an opportunity,” says Ashtari.
“Now, you can not only discover new activities, but you can find out the risk factors. People want to go out but also want to be safe. And Epic Reality gives them ways to do both.”
Epic Reality allows users to discover new locations and events, but also gauge Covid19-related risk factors