Orange Belgium debuts the Augmented City app for Antwerp

In association with the City of Antwerp, Orange Belgium is releasing Augmented City, a mobile application that offers an augmented reality experience when visiting Antwerp.

It will allow people to visit Antwerp in an original way and receive more information about its history. Users with a 5G compatible smartphone enjoy fast access to high-speed data which enables entertaining and educational augmented reality features.

In addition, Orange Belgium has partnered with The Tall Ships Races 2022, which will be stopping in Antwerp from July 22nd through 25th.

During The Tall Ships Races, jointly organized by the City of Antwerp and the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Orange Belgium will welcome visitors at Ecopolis right next to the MAS, with many exciting and inspiring activities and demos to witness the possibilities of 5G. Orange Belgium and Cropland will also help the city monitor the visitors with their award winning Crowd Monitoring service.

A unique visit of Antwerp, powered by 5G

From the Grote Markt to the Museum aan de Stroom (MAS), Orange Belgium will pilot visitors through a 3.2-kilometer interactive city tour of Antwerp with Augmented City. During their visits, users will discover historic landmarks in Antwerp, with additional information on their smartphone thanks to augmented reality. And if that smartphone is 5G compatible, the features become even more appealing. The visitors will follow different characters to guide them through the city’s evolution. Suitable for all audiences, the app developed by the French and German creative studios 9b+ and Syntop offers a route that is off the beaten track with many secret place and hidden gems.

The experience was developed based on pre-recorded panoramic views of Antwerp. Initially designed to introduce the speed and high-quality data of 5G, the app is also compatible with every smartphone, on Android and iOS, regardless of their network requirements or operator. The experience will be available as of tomorrow for free, in Dutch and French, via Apple Store and Google Play.

Grégoire Chailleux, General Manager of 9b+, comments: “We are thrilled to see Augmented City finally becoming available to the public. Our studios specialize in interactive experiences for cultural, architectural and historical initiatives. We have been developing this app for Antwerp for almost a year. Our goal was to allow people to discover a great historical city like Antwerp in a different way. We hope people will enjoy using it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.”

Orange Belgium supports The Tall Ships Races 2022

Orange Belgium partnered up with The Tall Ships Races 2022, which will be in Antwerp, from July 22nd through 25th. More than 100 participants will board over 40 ships for this 7th edition. This year, the event – organized by the City of Antwerp and the Port of Antwerp-Bruges – is expected to be the most sustainable and eco-friendly edition of the competition yet.

As the main partner of The Tall Ships Races 2022, Orange Belgium will be present throughout the gathering, occupying a part of the Ecopolis. Located next to the MAS at Portopolis, the zone will be dedicated to innovative and sustainable initiatives showcased inside four 40 m2 domes. Orange Belgium will welcome visitors inside its own dome to let them try out 5G-driven demos. Activities on-site will also include a virtual reality immersion inside the Notre-Dame de Paris in order to (re)discover the magnificent cathedral as it was before the tragic fire of 2019. The Orange Group proactively contributes to the cathedral’s restoration project by offering resources and technological innovation to bring this heritage site back to life.

Orange Belgium and Cropland provide crowd monitoring services

During The Tall Ships Races 2022, Orange Belgium will also provide crowd monitoring services, in collaboration with the data processing company Cropland. By mapping the connected mobile phones, the number of visitors can be counted, as well as where they come from, how crowded it is, at what time people arrive and leave, etc. The analysis is done entirely on the basis of anonymized data. Through this tool, the number of visitors can be indicated in real time and on a daily basis.

Showcasing the power of 5G at Orange’s 5G DEMO Tour

Meanwhile, Orange Belgium will also be on the other side of a Port of Antwerp-Bruges, on Napoleonkaai, with its Orange 5G Demo Trailer. Over the summer, the trailer will go from city to city along the Belgian coast to demonstrate the possibilities of 5G via different events and activities. Inside the Orange 5G Demo Trailer, visitors will have the opportunity to learn more about Orange Belgium 5G speed and performances. They will be able to enjoy online gaming demos with the action-adventure game Sea of Thieves. They will also be invited to pirate-related animations, as well as various competitions and fun activities in which they can win prizes.

Christophe Dujardin, Chief Customer Officer at Orange Belgium, is delighted about Orange Belgium 5G acceleration in Belgium: “One of our priorities is to always do our maximum to deliver nextgen services to our customers. With the activation of our 5G network, we will be able to offer even more possibilities as our new network will allow them to experience more speed and better connection in their daily life. And there’s no better way to walk the talk than launching this Augmented City application and provide transparent info during various 5G demonstrations throughout the country. With the Augmented City application we hope the discovery of Antwerp in a unique way will fascinate visitors and even Antwerp residents. In the future, we are also thinking of extending our mixed reality project to other cities in Belgium, as well as in France, Luxembourg and outside of Europe.”

Koen Kennis, vice mayor at the City of Antwerp and responsible for tourism, shared: “We are happy that Orange Belgium chose Antwerp as one of the first key cities in which to further develop its 5G network. We want visitors to fully experience Antwerp and that is why we value this cooperation a lot. Orange Belgium prepared a wonderful programme with many thrilling activities for our residents and visitors this month. In addition to enjoying a cutting-edge fast signal, they will also have a chance to discover our beautiful city in a captivating way thanks to the Augmented City app. We are also delighted to once again welcome The Tall Ships Races, this time supported by Orange Belgium. We are thrilled to see the opportunities that Orange Belgium will give us with a stronger and even more viable network.”