Animmersion’s interactive experience brings North York Moors National Park to life

A digital company has teamed up with the North York Moors National Park to create an interactive experience.

Animmersion has produced a new tablet-based app and series of holographic 3D animations to showcase well-known landmarks and sites.

The work, part of a major refurbishment programme at The Moors National Park Centre, will help bring to life a selection of 3D models produced during the Park’s Land of Iron project.

Visitors can browse the animations that depict the many ruins and surviving structures from the iron mining heritage of the North York Moors.

They will be accessible through a pair of interactive holographic displays, with additional images being added over time.

Middlesbrough-based Animmersion is continuing to work with the National Park’s team to design a number of new immersive visitor attractions to accompany family days out across the moorland and at the upgraded National Park Centre in Danby, near Whitby.

The refurbishment of the National Park Centre is part of the £4 million Land of Iron landscape partnership, which is backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, along with the David Ross Foundation, North York Moors National Park Authority and other partners.

Through Land of Iron, the partnership is undertaking a programme of preservation and conservation of the main historic ironstone mining and pioneering railway sites within the North York Moors National Park.

Improving the natural habitats has also formed part of the project, together with surveying the archaeological and historical heritage of the ironstone landscape, which has been stored as digital assets that Animmersion has used to create the 3D holograms.

The project is part of Animmersion’s growing presence in the heritage, culture and visitor attraction sector.

Building on the successful delivery of a revolutionary mixed-reality display, DeepFrame One at the Great Exhibition of the North, and its appearance at the Museums and Heritage Show in London in the spring, the company has seen an increase in enquiries from the sector.

Dominic Lusardi, Animmersion owner and managing director, said: “We are proud to be able to transform the information within the digital assets generated by the North York Moors National Park’s team into immersive attractions, which will enhance the visitor experience at Danby.

“This is a great example of how we can apply our expertise for creating immersive experiences from an organisation’s digital information.

“We have been successfully supporting industry with these solutions, for example bringing to life an underground network of pipelines to support engineer training and are now applying our approach and technology to the leisure, cultural and heritage sectors.”

Tom Mutton, Land of Iron programme manager at the North York Moors National Park, said: “The 3D holograms created by Animmersion bring a new, exciting dimension to the visitor experience at Danby.

“It forms a key part of our refurbishment programme at the centre, which really enhances the Land of Iron project and the stunning North York Moors National Park landscape.”

David Renwick, National Lottery Heritage Fund’s North area director, added: “Over the past two years, the Land of Iron project has brought together a host of partners across the Park to reconnect people with the beautiful landscape and fascinating stories that make the North York Moors a vibrant place.

“We are delighted that thanks to National Lottery players the Moors National Park Centre will provide a focus for visitors and local communities to discover the important landscape that surrounds them.”