6 ways virtual reality is changing local government

Have you ever played Pokemon Go? Added dog ears to your face in a social media app? If so, you’ve experimented with augmented reality. And you’re not the only one.

Augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) are a growing presence in day-to-day life. $ Home decor brands use it$  to show you what furniture would look like in your room. $ Driving schools are using it$  to $ ease young drivers onto the road$ . A $ wine company even used it to bring its labels to life$ .

Local governments have been exploring these tools for a number of years. In 2018, New York City debuted $ RLab, a $5.6 million city-funded AR/VR center$ , the first of its kind in the United States. That same year, $ multiple winners of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge used AR and VR$ , earning $ $1 million grants to implement their ideas$ .

Now, as more and more councils look to technology to solve problems in their communities, augmented and virtual reality is being adopted in increasingly innovative applications. It’s proving to be an effective way to engage the community, a cost-effective way to develop new programs, and a safer way to train city workers.

Let’s take a look at some of the creative ways cities and counties are embracing AR and VR, and dive into how other local governments can start using the technology for themselves.



Augmented reality vs virtual reality

In order to start thinking about how a local government can benefit from AR and VR, it’s important to first understand the difference between augmented reality and virtual reality:

Augmented reality: Augmented reality (AR) takes scenes or items in the real world and digitally alters them, often by adding or removing something into the setting. It’s the world you see, but enhanced to create a new experience.

Common applications of this are smartphone app filters, like the $ City of Chicago’s Snapchat filter that customizes face masks$  to encourage residents to wear masks, and $ Canning, WA’s smart park stations$  that bring up details about the local plants and wildlife.

Virtual reality: While augmented reality puts a lens or alteration on what a person is seeing, virtual reality completely recasts the surrounding environment into a simulated world you can interact with.

Virtual reality is helpful to illustrate settings and scenarios that are either inaccessible, or do not actually exist. To experience VR, people typically wear headsets or goggles that allow them to “look around” and immerse themselves in the scene. Common uses are $ showcasing future developments or projects to get community feedback,$  or $ conducting training for hazardous or difficult scenarios$ .

How are local governments using AR and VR?



Tourism and historical education

Augmented and virtual reality have been a growing trend in tourism for a number of years. They can make attractions and experiences more accessible while also driving awareness of local attractions and ultimately boosting visitation to a destination.

Even within the tourism space, application of AR and VR can vary quite a bit:

Cabarrus County, NC uses AR to bring its visitor guide to life

Stop at any visitor center and you’ll usually find shelves full of free visitor guides. In Cabarrus County, NC, a big motorsports destination, local tourism officials wanted to bring their guide to life beyond the printed page.

To do this, the Convention and Visitors Bureau paired its printed guide with video features, which are accessed through an augmented reality functionality:

“$ The idea - use Augmented Reality to take the reader beyond the printed pages, allowing them to get to know the people on the guide covers before they even step foot in the county, providing access to exclusive videos and content.$ ”

Readers download the free Visit Cabarrus app, then hover their smartphone over the faces portrayed on the cover and inside cover. $ They can then watch the pages transform into interactive content$ . The visitor guide will release new covers throughout the year, refreshing the videos that accompany them.

The creative destination marketing approach won multiple awards, including $ recognition from the U.S. Travel Association$ . At a cost of $ $50,000 for the augmented reality app and four visitor guide covers$ , the county saw immediate success, including more app users, more traffic to the CVB website, higher engagement rates with visitors on the website, and earned media coverage.

Charters Towers, QLD uses AR to recreate historical setting

For communities with historical sights, augmented reality can bring the past to life in engaging new ways. Virtual enhancements can transform how visitors see the landscape around them, transporting them to another era.

In Queensland, Australia, the $ Charters Towers council worked with local historians to develop an app that shows visitors what the area looked like during World War II$ . “Towers Hill in WWII” not only transforms the local landscape to allow users to explore recreated sites like a bunker, it makes visitors feel like they’re part of the scene, with details like a B-52 flyby, authentic recruiting posters, and the ability to take a selfie as a WWII-era nurse or pilot.

The app was built by $ Earthstory$ , an “immersive visitor experiences” agency who has also worked with the Brisbane City Council and other visitor centers. The AR project $ cost AUD $54,000$ .

In $ Shakopee, MN, the city is also using AR to show visitors what the area looked like in past centuries$ . Augmented reality illustrates the city as a Dakota Village, as well as a 19th century river port.

City planning and community feedback

When it comes to local government innovation, citizen buy-in is essential. If residents can’t visualize, or don’t understand a proposed project, the likelihood of it succeeding falls.

Because most people understand something better when they can see or experience it themselves, local governments are turning to augmented and virtual reality to educate the public about upcoming initiatives, and get their input.

Fingal County, IE uses VR to promote Smart District features

In Fingal County, IE, the town of Balbriggan became $ Ireland’s first “Smart District.”$  The town will be unveiling a number of technology-driven projects, including the introduction of an innovation hub and maker space.

To keep locals clued in on other enhancements on the town’s roadmap, the Our Balbriggan Hub features a virtual reality experience that showcases upcoming projects and developments. $ VIsitors to the hub can use the VR equipment on site to interact with six years’ worth of upcoming projects$ . This will give them a better understanding of how Balbriggan’s smart initiatives will enhance residents’ lives.

West Sacramento, CA gets community infrastructure input via AR

West Sacramento is combining a mix of tech solutions to let residents see what’s coming next for their community. The $ city is using an augmented reality software called vGIS$  to build AR experiences around proposed city zoning and infrastructure projects.

The app allows residents to see what future buildings would look like in their proposed locations in the city. It also $ lets users comment on the various proposals$ , making it easier for the city to aggregate citizens’ feedback and incorporate it into the planning.

Training local government workers

Hands-on experience is one of the most valuable learning opportunities. But for some jobs, especially those in public safety and health departments, it’s not always so easy to replicate real-life scenarios. This is where AR and VR come to the rescue.

Coral Springs, FL uses VR for emergency response training

Many fire and police departments are turning to virtual reality as a safer alternative to train first responders. In $ Coral Springs, FL, the Fire Department partnered with Virtual Education Systems to train firefighters using VR$ . The training focuses on various emergency medical response scenarios, both before and at a hospital, such as performing CPR or intubating a patient.

The experience, $ said participant Alan Jimenez, felt real$ :



“It makes you feel like you’re there even if you don’t have a patient in front of you.”



In addition to providing realistic decision-making experience, the technology includes built-in assessments, allowing the trainees to be graded on their performance objectively by the system.

The $ Winston-Salem/Forsyth County in North Carolina conducted a similar training for first responders$ , using VR to practice responses to active shooter situations. Over 100 emergency personnel participated in the three-day session.

Bristol City Council, GB applies VR to acclimate healthcare workers

First responders aren’t the only ones using VR for training. For healthcare workers, virtual reality can deepen the caregiver’s understanding and inform changes to treatments.

In the UK, the $ Bristol City Council is using VR to train caregivers who work with people living with dementia$ . The trainees wear a headset with goggles and headphones, plus special gloves, all of which are programmed to simulate the challenges those with dementia face.

Going through these experiences, even virtually, showed caregivers how frustrating or challenging certain tasks are for their patients. One of the trainees, $ Rahma Said, explained$ :

“By understanding the issues faced by a person with dementia, we can start to make simple changes to the way we care to help reduce their frustration and anxiety.”



Not only does the VR allow for tactical changes to caregiving techniques, it reinforces the empathy healthcare workers have for their patients. This powerful approach could be applied for a range of city and county caregivers, from addiction specialists to social workers to other healthcare professionals.

Tips for implementing augmented and virtual reality

As a multi-billion dollar industry, augmented and virtual reality continues to evolve and become more sophisticated. At the same time, the more vendors and projects on the market, the more accessible the functionality is becoming at smaller budgets.

Local governments looking to implement virtual or augmented reality now have a huge opportunity to enhance their services or operations with this technology.

To do so successfully, keep these tips in mind:

Start with a goal

As with all innovation, it’s important to have a problem you’re working to solve. Augmented or virtual reality for the sake of flashy technology will miss the opportunity to drive deeper engagement and drive change.

Keep it simple

If an application can utilize the users’ smartphones there may be no need to invest in equipment such as goggles or screens. Taking advantage of products already in regular use will make it easier for people to start engaging with augmented or virtual reality applications.

Build off what others have done

Before you build something new, research whether another government or private corporation has already done something similar. Local governments can save time and resources by repurposing what others have already done — there’s no need to reinvent the wheel.

You can find $ more augmented and virtual reality projects here$ .