When creating the Ocean Liners: Glamour, Speed, and Style exhibition, the team at the Peabody Essex Museum wanted a unique way highlight the famed RMS Queen Mary,
a ship that was on the forefront of technology and modern design for
its era. Using the technology of today to showcase the innovations of
yesterday, Balance Studios used the magic of augmented reality (AR) to take museum guests on a virtual tour of this magnificent liner.
Guests dive into this famed piece of floating history using iPads located at the exhibit's 12-ft. Queen Mary model. Each of the three
iPad stations provide a unique selection of hotspots. Object tracking
enables the app to superimpose a digital environment directly over the
physical model so users can explore the ship's system of operations and
interiors as they existed in the mid-1930s.
Visitors select hotspots and virtually explore 3D modeled rooms to see
images, past and present, of the vessel.
Animated passengers are
portrayed with great detail to show which class they were traveling on
so users can understand the social separations
that were common during travel in this time period. The ship's journey
also brings visitors to the present-day incarnation of the liner and
shows 360º views of rooms, as they are today, where the ship is docked
and used as the Queen Mary Historic Long Beach Hotel.