The pursuit of Net Zero is an integral way that we can combat the climate crisis. The UK’s net zero target is a commitment from the government to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 100% from 1990 levels by 2050. As the name suggests, meeting this would mean the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the UK would be equal to or less than the emissions removed by the UK from the environment.
“It’s not often that we have a chance to work on a project that could have huge implications for planet Earth”
Projects across the country are contributing to this aim; many of these have been initiated in the South West. Excitingly, Zubr, one of the top studios for augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) working in the UK today has announced that their latest project will be working towards this mission.
James Biggs, Co-founder and Commercial Director at Zubr tells us, “It’s not often that we have a chance to work on a project that could have huge implications for planet Earth, and we’re extremely proud to have worked on this with one of our largest global clients in the ESG field using Augmented Reality.”
Reaching Net Zero
The project has been designed to showcase and educate and help businesses, organisations, councils, and governments on their road to achieving Net Zero sustainability. Working with global specialists, Zubr highlighted 6 core areas that are key to reducing emissions around the world:
- Next Generation Grid
- Renewable Storage
- Sustainable Transportation
- Smart Energy Solutions
- Net Zero / Sustainability
- Carbon Management
In order to showcase this experience, Zubr partnered with Amalgam Modelmaking and its fantastic team who built a physical model 150cm by 150cm square showing six zones with each one representing a segment in a journey toward net zero and the circular economy.
This physical model provides a unique base in order to overlay an interactive Digital Message. By simply pointing an iPad at the tracking image on the model, users can see additional information (text points, videos, infographics, etc.), animations, and other digital enhancements overlaid on top of the physical object.
“Our hope at Zubr is that this experience will revolutionise how complex, but extremely important messages can be displayed to a new audience”
This not only adds a new level of engagement and interactivity, but it allows for greater understanding and visualisation of complex concepts. Areas included in the digital content are:
- Electric Vehicles charging at EV stations
- Vehicles driving around the roads and on the ocean surface
- Campus: Animated people walking around the paths, additional detail on buildings, and environmental features such as wildlife, clouds, etc.
- Future Grid: Digital Power Pylons with the ‘flow’ of electricity around the map
- Wind Farms: Animated Wind Turbines connected to the Future Grid
- Residential: Solar panels on the roofs of the buildings and surrounding areas
- Carbon Reservoir Pipeline: The flow of Carbon from the Oil Rig into the Carbon Reservoir
In order to reach the widest audience possible and ensure the end result was accessible, Zubr also created a Remote Version that could be downloaded by anyone around the world on a compatible device.
This Remote version also allows a User to magically transport down and walk around the streets of the model as if they were really there, engaging in the various educational elements as the world around them comes to life.
James summarises, “Our hope at Zubr is that this experience will revolutionise how complex, but extremely important messages can be displayed to a new audience through Augmented and other innovative technologies.”
