Through augmented reality, you can see what Berlin was like when the Berlin Wall was built.
There is nothing I enjoy more than seeing GPS used in unusual and creative ways. Recently, a German company has created a TimeTraveler app that allows visitors to learn about the Berlin Wall through GPS-based augmented reality. Available on both iPhone and Android devices, this cool app lets your phone act like a window to the past.
This GPS-based tour takes users through eleven major historical sites along the Berlin Wall at the Berlin Wall memorial on Bernauer Street. As you stand in the right spot, your phone will show you hidden film footage, reconstructions of long demolished historical sites and tales of the impact of the Berlin Wall in Germany. You’ll be able to witness firsthand the dramatic escape of Frida Schulze from her apartment window, see the demolition of the Church of Reconciliation, and watch as the border guard Conrad Schuman jumps the barbed wire barrier between East and West Berlin.
I obviously haven’t traveled to Berlin to test out this app, but the site does have several images that let you experience what it would be like to be there, and it is pretty cool. You can download the app and test it out for yourself here. Pretty cool technology, and I’d love to see it used at other historical sites.
