Creative tourism in the UK and China: Augmented Reality for gardens in Cornwall and Suzhou

The Chinese region of Suzhou is famous worldwide for its public gardens, visitor attractions in urban settings acting as oases of tranquility, products of an ancient design philosophy. Cornwall in the UK also draws visitors from across the world to its public gardens, which in its rural setting focus on preservation, horticulture and sustainability goals, as well as grappling with legacies of an imperial past. Major botanical gardens across the world have this year started experimenting with Augmented Reality (AR) technology to display 'virtual exhibitions' which visitors can access through apps on their smartphones, transforming open spaces into interactive, creative tourism through approaches inspired by hit games such as Pokemon Go. From the perspective of an AR designer, public gardens are an ideal space to work with because they are enclosed spaces, with clear rules and design - much like a videogame level. This intersects with a challenge that the Chinese games industry in particular faces: the need to diversify audiences for interactive applications in the face of market opportunities and government pressures. This project explores developing AR exhibitions in smaller public gardens which may have been impressed by seeing pioneering events at larger competitors Working with a Chinese technology partner specialised in AR, this project engages public gardens to find out how its opportunities are relevant to their missions. Researchers and students from two universities experienced in delivering technology projects with heritage partners will work together with public gardens in Cornwall and Suzhou to develop AR which enhances what they offer current audiences and also draw in new ones, as well as engage interested local exhibitors or artists with AR opportunities. The process is led by the garden partners and is primarily about designing something appropriate, not just showing off what the technology can do. Through this the project explores the different conceptions of what a public garden is for, the principles they are organised around and the heritage they draw upon, colliding the traditions of eastern and western garden design with the innovation opportunities Augmented Reality and creative tourism offer, beginning a conversation between UK and China partners about how our diverse heritage can offer insights for innovation, collaboration and the process of design.

The project "Creative tourism in the UK and China.: Augmented Reality for Gardens in Cornwall and Suzhou" looks to build a strategic partnership between the UK and China in order to drive local innovation and growth, and consists of:

1- A partnership between universities, regional administrations, a technology intermediary and public garden partners to pursue shared interests in AR for Creative Tourism and heritage,drive local innovation and enable growth.
2- The co-development of AR elements for public gardens in the UK's Cornwall region and in China's Suzhou region, simultaneously involving partner universities' Flamouth and Tongji's research teams and students.
3- The deployment and user-testing of the AR designs in situ to track impact and effectiveness.
4 -The sharing of learning throughout the design process alongside reflection on the impact and outcomes of the process in its different contexts.

The integration of these main activities will lead to the following outputs:
A - The design and development of AR elements for public garden partners, enabling them to reach new audiences, exhibitors and markets.
B - Collaboration workshops between research teams establishing channels for working together, leading to a conference or journal paper summarising learning.
C - A strengthened relationship between relationship between HEIs and creative and tourism industries, with the intention to apply for further funding in the future.