In an effort to connect South Africans with wildlife, the Notes On Nature app has created a “mixed reality” space where people can immerse themselves in nature.
South Africa (05 October 2023) – Immersive environmental studio Habitat XR announced the launch of Notes on Nature, an original mixed-reality application. The app is designed to connect the new notes in our pockets, to the wildlife they depict in a fun and interactive way. Notes on Nature is here to celebrate the beautiful Big 5 and the heritage of our wildlife.
Fuelled by our planet’s loss of biodiversity and our dramatically shrinking access to nature, Notes on Nature is a free app that brings the wildlife featured on South Africa’s five banknotes to life.
“It’s a hard truth of our modern world that it’s easier to democratise access to tech than it is to democratise access to physical nature”, explains Habitat XR CEO, Ulrico Grech-Cumbo.
“Within that, however, lies an opportunity. With the mobile phone in one of your pockets and the bank notes in your other, we can foster a connection between South Africans and our natural heritage using immersive media. This was the idea behind Notes on Nature.”
The app uses a combination of augmented reality and 360-degree video technologies, collectively termed “mixed reality”. Users are prompted to scan banknotes with their mobile phone cameras to trigger a magic portal into the pristine South African savannah (footage filmed by Habitat XR using specialised 360-degree cameras). Here, users get to experience intimate and interactive moments with each of the famous Big 5 animals as featured on both the new and older South African banknote designs.
The application uses augmented reality (AR) image tracking to recognise when a specific banknote is visible and plays the corresponding species’ immersive video. The gyro sensors inside most modern smartphones allow the viewer to turn around and witness the entire 360-degree scene as if they were physically present within it.
Giving South Africans the chance to connect with our wildlife in this way, is unique and will give many a new way to learn about South Africa’s wildlife.
Notes on Nature is available for free on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
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