Library Renovation

Fast Forward to the Future with Augmented Reality

NOTE11/23/20:  THIS AR TOUR WAS CREATED WITH AN AR APP, AURASMA,THAT IN NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

As we’ve been sharing here in our blog and on our social media channels, there are exciting changes coming for DPPL!  We’ve shared some of the architect’s renderings of the new spaces that are part of our coming renovation, but admittedly it can sometimes be hard to fully visualize what a new space will be like from just a drawing.

As a part of our information campaign on the library’s two year renovation, we are launching a fun way to see what some of the changes will look like through the use of Augmented Reality (AR) – an emerging technology growing in use around the world – that overlays new content onto a real-world experience.  Using a free AR app, we’ve created a way for you to go to our existing spaces and see what the space will look like after the renovation. 

If you’d like to experience this futuristic magic on your iOS or Android device, simply follow the instructions below; if you don't have your own device, stop by one of the desks on the 3rd or 4th floor and our staff will be happy to show you on one of the library's iPads. You can also grab a copy of these instructions on the Fast Forward information kiosk just inside the north doors of the 1st floor.

  1. Go to http://www.aurasma.com/ and download and install the free app for your iOS or Android device
  2. Launch the app, and swipe through the tutorial that greets you
  3. When prompted to create an account, touch the Skip >> option
  4. Touch the Aurasma icon in the center bottom of the screen to switch out of camera view to the main Aurasma screen
  5. Touch the Magnifying glass icon along the bottom of the screen
  6. In the search bar, type “dppl”
  7. From the search results, touch the DPPL result with our logo (“DPPL – Des Plaines Public Library”)
  8. Click the purple FOLLOW button in the upper right corner of the page.

You are now ready to interact with DPPL’s augmented reality content!

Interacting with our AR Tour

To experience the coming changes in our renovation, head to the 3rd and 4th floors and look for the AR Tour circles on the floor.

  1. Stand on the circle and point yourself in the same direction as the arrow in the circle.
  2. Switch to camera mode in Aurasma (from the main screen, touch the bracket-like icon in the center at the bottom of the screen)
  3. Aim your device at the space in front of you.  You’ll see six dots bouncing in and out of the center; when the app recognizes* the space, the circles will join in the center, and then the future vision will fade in, in front of your eyes!
  4. Tap once on the image to be taken back to the Aurasma camera if you just want to move on to the next point of the tour, or double-tap on the image to go to the Fast Forward blog to learn more about the renovation.
  5. If you do opt to go to the renovation blog, you can click Done in the upper right corner to return to the Aurasma camera, and proceed to the next AR Tour circle!

CIRCLE

Look for carpet decals like this that mark where to stand for our AR tour.

You’ll find our three AR renovation tour circles on the 3rd and 4th floors – ask at one of the desks if you have any trouble finding any of them.

TIPS:

  • If there are a lot of people moving through the space as you are trying to trigger the AR experience, it could affect Aurasma from recognizing the space; try waiting until the space clears and try again.
  • The trigger images are oriented in a landscape format, so you'll have best luck with Aurasma recognizing our triggers if you orient your mobile device so the camera is in landscape, not portrait, mode (as shown in the small video above).