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Apple CEO Tim Cook Promotes New Statue of Liberty Augmented Reality App

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Apple CEO Tim Cook this afternoon encouraged his Twitter followers to check out the new Statue of Liberty augmented reality app for iOS, which was conceptualized by Diane von Fürstenberg to celebrate the launch of the Statue of Liberty Museum this Thursday.

According to the Vogue article on the app, it was created by the Statue of Liberty Foundation and Yap Studios. Its creation took more than a year of scanning and photography, and it offers up a time-lapse view from the statue's eyes, a look inside of it, and a time-lapse of how the color changed over time.

statueofliberty1-1.jpg

The main feature, though, is several 3D models of the Statue of Liberty that can be projected into your own home. There's a full-size model plus close-ups of the torch and the Statue's foot.


The app is designed to help visitors to the museum and those who are viewing from home understand the construction and the detail of the Statue of Liberty, thanks to augmented reality. Apple was one of the donors of the project after Diane von Fürstenberg connected Tim Cook and the Statue of Liberty Foundation.

statueofliberty2.jpg
"I met Tim Cook from Apple, and discovered first of all that he had never been to Liberty Island, so I arranged for him to go," DvF revealed. "Not even knowing what I was talking about, I said, 'Wouldn't it be wonderful to give people an Apple experience when they go on the Island?' I met the people who do apps and we started, not knowing where it would all end up. The foundation created this app that will reach hundreds of millions of people. It will be the biggest opening of a museum ever!"
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Apple execs, including Tim Cook, have continually touted the capabilities of augmented reality and its potential to change the world, and the Statue of Liberty app is one example that could inspire other museums and historical sites to take on similar projects.
"Augmented reality really lets you place literal objects and experience into the real world around you," DvF said. "It allows you to learn about the statue and the experience. You can place the Statue of Liberty in a class room or a living room; it's available in the Apple store in 155 countries, and with one billion devices in peoples' hands, our museum experience goes from New York to the globe!"
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There's also a new "Raising the Torch" podcast, and von Fürstenberg says that a documentary about the Statue of Liberty will be released later this year. The podcast will feature different historians discussing the Statue's historical context and past.

The Statue of Liberty app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook Promotes New Statue of Liberty Augmented Reality App
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/05/14/statue-of-liberty-ar-ios-app/
What does AR contribute to the experience? Why not just shown a 3D model of the statue onscreen in its actual environment instead of placing it in your living room at the wrong scale? Apple has still yet to show that AR has any value on smartphones.
 
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Simmias said:
What does AR contribute to the experience? Why not just shown a 3D model of the statue onscreen in its actual environment instead of placing it in your living room at the wrong scale? Apple has still yet to show that AR has any value on smartphones.
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My thoughts exactly. Just like most of the AR presentations during Apple‘s keynotes. A shooting game gains nothing from taking place on your table. If anything, it takes away from the realism.
And the „use“ of this AR function in the featured app ends after „Hey look, I have the Statue of Liberty in my living room“.
 
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Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...

In my living room?
 
This might seem like “just cool” at the moment; as do the entire AR concept. But once smart glasses becomes a reality, this will be monumental - can’t wait!
 
Classie said:
This might seem like “just cool” at the moment; as do the entire AR concept. But once smart glasses becomes a reality, this will be monumental - can’t wait!
Click to expand...

AR has demonstrated jaw-dropping potential in industrial and medical uses. But those concepts were achieved by other tech names using expensive, specialized gear. The question is what applications will Apple and its devs make for their consumer audience that will improve upon non-AR experiences? Entertainment? Naturally. Educative? What's the demand? Utility? We'll see. I imagine AR utility apps that have to understand the context of the environment will be technically challenging. Not to mention such apps will probably be more costly to develop, thus more expensive to purchase. The app will have to be valuable and work as advertised.
 
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Defthand said:
AR has demonstrated jaw-dropping potential in industrial and medical uses. But those concepts were achieved by other tech names using expensive, specialized gear. The question is what applications will Apple and its devs make for their consumer audience that will improve upon non-AR experiences? Entertainment? Naturally. Educative? What's the demand? Utility? We'll see. I imagine AR utility apps that have to understand the context of the environment will be technically challenging. Not to mention such apps will probably be more costly to develop, thus more expensive to purchase. The app will have to be valuable and work as advertised.
Click to expand...
Agreed, it is not an obvious path. Then again no one saw the potential in the App Store; just a novelty with some apps/games to pass the time with ;)
 
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Simmias said:
What does AR contribute to the experience? Why not just shown a 3D model of the statue onscreen in its actual environment instead of placing it in your living room at the wrong scale? Apple has still yet to show that AR has any value on smartphones.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I think it has value, but I think the key to what you said is on smartphones. I don't think it has as much value on smartphones vs. slim, stylish AR glasses that look more like regular glasses, or further in the future, possibly contact lenses that act as a wireless display for a super advanced Apple Watch or something.

The only time I use AR is to get a rough measurement of something when I don't have measuring tape with me, like at a store. Rarely I use the Ikea app to see if something fits in a space in my house, but the last time they didn't even have the thing in the AR catalog, so it was useless. I don't think they've been keeping it very up-to-date, like many developers with their Apple Watch apps that have fizzled out. It was this exciting thing that people don't really seem to care about any more once the novelty wore off. Sometimes my kids use it as a toy because they want to see a dinosaur walking around in the house or whatever.
 
Simmias said:
What does AR contribute to the experience? Why not just shown a 3D model of the statue onscreen in its actual environment instead of placing it in your living room at the wrong scale? Apple has still yet to show that AR has any value on smartphones.
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It enriches peoples lives
 
AR will be great for glasses or heads-up displays like in cockpits and cars.
Give the "user" direct in-vision useful information (navigation, POI, etc.), while looking at where you're going.

For smartphones and tablets it's a demo-gadget. Looks like Tim is trying a bit too hard here....
 
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