Project Background
AusPost engaged Arq to develop a Virtual Reality data visualisation proof of concept (POC) that would allow posties to view information about specific addresses.
Menu
Arq combined forces with Australia Post to utilise their data to create an immersive virtual reality experience for an improved customer experience
AusPost engaged Arq to develop a Virtual Reality data visualisation proof of concept (POC) that would allow posties to view information about specific addresses.
Typically, posties make notes about specific houses on their routes, and new posties assigned to those routes need a convenient way to view that information. AusPost wanted to build an Augmented Reality (AR) app that would allow posties to view this data by holding their smartphones up to a specific house. Given the limitations and technical complexity of current AR devices, Arq proposed building a Virtual Reality (VR) environment that mimicked the posties’ routes, with house information overlaid in a style similar to AR.
The VR environment was built in Unreal Engine and uses gaze-based navigation to create a 360º streetview. Looking at interactive points in the environment activates a text box with information about the address and gazing up into the sky at the UFO transports the user to another location within the environment.
The project, dubbed ParcelBot, integrates with Amazon Echo and Amazon Alexa to allow the user to interact with the environment via voice command. Users make requests such as “jump to the next location” or “show me more” to instigate changes in the environment.
The Australian Postal Corporation, operating as Australia Post (or AusPost), is the government business enterprise that provides postal services in Australia.
Aust Post provides services to many Australians, and regularly visit over 11.7 million addresses across the country. This important role we play in our community also allows us to deliver much more than parcels and letters.
Last year, we sent 3.3 billion items to 11.9 million delivery points across Australia and to over 190 countries across the world. Aust Post employs over 55,000 Australians. In the last 5 years Aust Post has made significant investment in its digital transformation journey, with many of it’s innovations used as case studies across both corporates and governments globally.