Startup Spotlight: ARtGlass uses augmented reality to communicate culture and history
Visitors to the historic home of James Monroe near Charlottesville can now “see” a re-creation of the original house where the fifth president lived, even though the building burned sometime in the 19th century.
The trick is a new technology called augmented reality, or AR, which enables visitors to wear special transparent smartglasses that can superimpose three-dimensional images or text on a landscape, or objects.
In August, ARtGlass received an investment from Trolley Venture Partners, an investment fund created this year to back early-stage business ventures in central Virginia.
More than 700,000 people have used the technology at cultural sites in Europe, and Werkheiser said the company’s potential U.S. market is enormous.
“It binds together all of our narratives,” Woodle said. “It is not just about Monroe. It is not just a piece about slavery. It is about how all of those personalities were interacting and making Highland a working place.”