Cubtile : the future Bordeaux lift bridge in 3D

As the foundations for the Bacalan-Bastide lift bridge were laid in Bordeaux, an “observation kiosk” of the building opened its doors on Wednesday, December 9, in the premises of Cap Sciences (Hangar 20). During all the building work, almost three years, a device using the Cubtile will permit to superimpose virtual depictions from the future bridge to real time Garonne’s pictures. The objective is to permit the general public to discover in an interactive way the work as it will finally be in autumn 2012. Moreover, this augmented reality installation also permits to display the lift bridge in action: touching the tactile faces of the cube, the user can easily interact on screen with the mobile span of the bridge.
This installation is the result from the collaboration of Immersion with Cap Sciences, Alcove and IPARLA Team (INRIA) within the framework of the national research project Instinct (for more information, see this page): it was the opportunity for Immersion to develop a 3D application which is accessible to the general public using the Cubtile, but it was above all the first time that the tactile device is given to the general public.
The baptism of fire of this bold augmented reality device took place successfully in the presence of the various local politicians (Alain Juppé – Bordeaux mayor, Vincent Feltesse – CUB chairman and other local politicians). This display solution for the future bridge, which is called to evolve over the building work, will definitely seduce the inhabitants of Bordeaux.