Rings of Time

Yikun Peng

Rings of Time transforms traditional tourist attractions into multi-dimensional, immersive experiences through spatial audio and augmented reality technology.

Context

Rings of Time is a web application delivering an immersive, audio-driven touring experience¹¹: dasdasdas. The product leverages locative media and location-based augmented reality, using GPS and device orientation data to deliver spatial audio through headphones. Visitors naturally discover points of interest while viewing AR reconstructions of historical landmarks across different eras.

Progressive, Multi-layered and Multimedia experience

Rings of Time configures tourist attractions with points of interest using the PMM (Progressive, Multi-layered, and Multimedia) framework. By precisely detecting visitors' geographic location and orientation, the system enables passive discovery of nearby points of interest through audio cues—direction, volume, and tonal characteristics. As visitors approach each location, distance-based triggers progressively unlock layered content and interactions.

Goal and Application

The project addresses key limitations of traditional tourist aids—lack of immersion, convenience, and intuitiveness—while enhancing playfulness and interactivity. Rings of Time was first deployed at Nottingham Castle, UK in 2022, helping visitors experience the site's historical evolution firsthand.

Rapid deployment and configuration

A demo version is hosted online and open-sourced. The platform offers highly configurable parameters, enabling rapid integration with any tourist attraction by simply uploading coordinates, images, and audio for each point of interest.

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