Comet Bay College has been awarded a grant from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to develop an educational and interactive commemorative app, which will be called The ANZAC Heroes App.
The College will employ professional app developer Viewport XR to help create the tool which will use augmented reality to project realistic, three-dimensional avatars of Australian Defence Force heroes into classrooms to share their stories of services.
Once launched, it will be made available nation-wide and free for all Australians.
Principal Kelly Bennett said she was thrilled Comet Bay College would play a role in developing a cutting-edge app.
“The app will also include augmented reality military vehicles and equipment, which can be viewed either miniature or life-sized, giving users a 360-degree immersive experience to further enhance their understanding of military history and experiences,” she said.
“The software we will use will allow us to add more characters, features and content down the track, ensuring the app is an unlimited educational resource.”
The app has five main features, including:
- “AR Veterans” who will share their story of service in a life-like 3D animation, with interactive features, including the ability for app users to take a selfie with the avatar;
- Augmented reality military vehicles and equipment which can be seen either miniature or life size;
- “AR Portals” which give a 360-degree immersive experience of locations relevant to military history;
- “Veteran Voices” recorded veteran audio interviews; and
- a notifications function acknowledging significant military dates in Australia’s history.
Minister for Government Services Senator the Hon. Linda Reynolds CSC visited Comet Bay College last week to learn more about the app. She served in the Australian Army for 28 years and has been invited to share her experience as one of the app’s featured Veteran Voices.