Germany: Mixed-Reality Time Travel Through the Inner City of Essen Available as of April 2022

From April 2022, tourists and interested people will be able to travel back in during a tour through the city centre of Essen tot he year of 1887, more precisely to the day of the funeral of industrialist Alfred Krupp. And how will this work? By using mixed reality glasses (type “NREAL Light“) supplied by the Düsseldorf-based manufacturer NEONREAL. Sensors project virtual content, such as stagecoaches, historical buildings and squares as well as people in contemporary garments, onto the inside of the glasses, so that the virtual and real images mix in front of the users‘ eyes. Prominent personalities such as actors Henning Baum, Tatjana Clasing and Alicja Rosinski, as well as TV chef Nelson Müller, TV host Harry Wijnvoord and the rap duo 257ers guide the participants as virtual characters through the various scenes during the two-hour tour, which was developed by EMG – Essen Marketing GmbH. 

“When selecting the actors and actresses, we attached great importance to local identification. All of them have a connection to the city, were born here, live here or have worked or studied here. We designed the tour completely in-house,“ explains Richard Röhrhoff, Managing Director of EMG. “There is a pioneering spirit in the air in Essen again, as it has been the case so often in history. EMG was immediately on fire for what we were doing. We quickly wanted to set a milestone together. Since then we have been working very hard and intensively on the realisation of the tour,“ says Jan Thiel, Managing Director of NEONREAL. The city tour will cost 25 euros per person and participants can get their mixed-reality glasses for a deposit at the Essen tourist information in the future. (eap)