Tech and the Spirit of Togetherness
Unlike Virtual Reality, which immerses users in isolated digital worlds, Augmented Reality enhances our shared physical environment, making it more collaborative and accessible to anyone with a smartphone. AR fosters inclusion and real-time interaction, making it an ideal tool for urban planning. As the holiday season inspires reflection, we’re thankful for the chance to shape future cities and bring people together.
A Year of Growth, Gratitude, and the Power of Connection
What a remarkable year it’s been! This Thanksgiving, we at inCitu have much to be grateful for. Since launching inCituAR® in June, we’ve seen incredible growth in our user community. We’ve had the honor of seeing our work lead to real change (we’re looking at you, LinkUS!). Our team has expanded, both in numbers and in personal milestones, with two new babies joining the inCitu family. We’ve traveled all over the world, supporting our growing community - from Barcelona to Melbourne.
Above all, we’re grateful for how our work has brought us together: with each other, with our talented creator community, and with the thousands of people our platform has engaged in planning processes this past year. At inCitu, we’ve always believed that it’s not about the technology itself, but what it allows us to achieve. Our mission is to bring residents together with each other, local governments, and city builders to better collaborate around the process of urban change. We’re incredibly thankful for the privilege of working towards this goal every day.
A Tool for Togetherness
The beauty of augmented reality as a planning tool is that it is collaborative by nature. Picture someone standing outside, phone held high - the natural instinct is to peek over their shoulder, to see what they are seeing. That augmented reality - digital information overlaid on our real-world environment - becomes a shared experience. It allows users to interact with both the physical world and digital elements simultaneously, and promotes engagement with others in the same space.
People often confuse Augmented Reality with Virtual Reality. While understandable, these two technologies are vastly different, especially when viewed through the lens of togetherness. VR immerses users in entirely digital environments, typically isolating them from their physical surroundings and nearby people. While VR may connect users in virtual spaces, it creates a disconnect from the immediate physical world and those in it.
Accessibility is another key differentiator. Augmented Reality can be accessed by anyone with a smartphone, making it widely inclusive. VR on the other hand, requires specialized and expensive equipment, with headsets going for anywhere from $300 to $1,000 or more. This cost disparity means AR has the potential to reach a much wider audience, fostering more inclusive and widespread participation in augmented, digital real world experiences.
As the Thanksgiving holiday fades and Black Friday is upon us, many of us will find ourselves swept up in the shopping frenzy, hunting for the latest gadgets and gizmos. Amid the chaos, let’s reflect: what are we really seeking in a shiny new device? As you consider which new tech to add to your life, remember that the most valuable innovations aren't always the ones with the biggest price tags. Sometimes, the most impactful technology is the one that helps us see our shared reality in new ways and brings us together to shape our collective future.
At inCitu, we’re thankful for the opportunity to use AR to foster collaboration around the process of urban change - bring future cities to life. In the spirit of togetherness that defines this holiday season, we're committed to technology that doesn't just wow us, but truly connects us.
