Thousands of people, including personalities in the field of technology, international visitors, but also many children experienced the world through the prism of virtual and augmented reality at the UPT stand in the most vibrant and attractive event that takes place annually in Timișoara, for three days –  Flight Festival participants 2022.

Educational and cultural applications experienced with the help of augmented, virtual and mixed reality technologies, holograms, but also projects of interest to the community - the Politehnica University of Timisoara at the Flight Festival participantsrepresented by the teams CeL and CM and the Spotlight Heritage Timișoara team, gathered thousands of participants who discovered the technologies of the future, with the help of the latest generation equipment, made available at the Tech World exhibition, at Cioca Airport.

"Walks" through Timișoara from now and then through AR and student co-creators of the city's digital culture

One of the biggest points of interest for the participants was the cultural project Patrimoniul sub reflectoare Timișoara / Spotlight Heritage Timișoara. Flight Festival participants had the opportunity to discover the project web page, with the stories of the four historical districts of Timișoara, through an interactive display and, at the same time, "walked" virtually through Timișoara from now and then with the mobile and augmented reality applications Spotlight Heritage Timișoara, made available on interactive tablets and mobile phones at the UPT stand, developed by polytechnic students within the project.

For an extra interaction with the visitors who were waiting in line with interest, the Spotlitght Heritage team invited them to play a game, where they had to recognize visual elements from the past of Timisoara. Several hundred people expressed their interest in checking their knowledge about the cultural heritage of the city, receiving prizes at the end, that will remind them of the Spotlight Heritage Timișoara project.

At the same time, they were able to enjoy the experience of dance and theater performances, recorded in a multimedia experience, with elements of augmented reality, which explores, neighborhood by neighborhood, the memory and stories of the inhabitants of Timisoara yesterday and today, wanting to highlight the city's cultural heritage.

𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬 // 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡

This event was preceded by TechTalks // Life around tech - the largest technology conference in the Western region of Romania, part of the Flight Festival participants, organized by the Politehnica University of Timișoara, which took place on September 1, 2022 and which contributes, year after year, to the construction of an emerging, innovative community by bringing together entrepreneurs, innovation managers, corporate leaders who instill inspiration and facilitate the exchange of innovative best practices, contributing to creativity, innovation and change in various enterprises and industries.

The Spotlight Heritage project enjoyed the visit of numerous personalities in the field, who, during this conference, tested the technologies of the future through the latest generation equipment. Visitors had the opportunity to discover a series of cultural and web, but also mobile and augmented, virtual and mixed reality applications - developed by the SH team and students involved in the development of digital cultural heritage.

The ID/IFR and e-Learning Center, together with the The Multimedia Centre, through teaching staff and master's students, have been involved in AR/VR research, online courses, virtual mobilities and, in particular, digital applications dedicated to culture and heritage for several years.