A vandalized mural in Vancouver, Canada, has been replaced with a QR code that is designed to allow viewers to see an image of the way the imaged used to appear before it was defaced.
The mural, located on First Avenue at Nanaimo Street, was originally created in October 2005, and measured 45 feet long and 14 feet high. It was a part of a graffiti deterrent program that was sponsored by the City of Vancouver. Originally, it was an image of a girl (see above for before it was vandalized) with the Vancouver Art Gallery depicted in the background. It was carefully created by the artist to be appealing and “dreamlike” without being a distraction to drivers travelling by.
Some artists and city planners are predicting that this is a sign of things to come. Many are starting to think that this is only one example of what will become quite common in urban beautification projects, especially as augmented reality starts to become better developed and used in a more mainstream way.
The possibilities are being considered much more widely for the use of augmented reality in viewing buildings and neighborhoods. Some intriguing ideas have already been developed for creating entire neighborhoods that have had augmented reality historically recreate them.
This will not only help to cover problems such as vandalism, but will also provide a significant amount of historical information about a certain area in a city. It will be interesting for both locals and tourists who are visiting from elsewhere.
