Virtual tour of a future airport

Swedavia operates ten airports across Sweden and is a world leader in developing climate-smart airports. The state-owned company is currently engaged in major capital investment projects to increase capacity and enhance passenger experience at Sweden’s largest airport, Stockholm Arlanda. The development plans also include a large-scale urban development project, Airport City Stockholm. The city – taking shape at and around the airport – covers 800 hectares dedicated to offices, hotels, event venues, retail, cargo & logistics, green spaces and more. Swedavia’s investment projects at Stockholm Arlanda have a planning horizon that extends to 2050.

Opportunity

Stakeholder management is one of the key success drivers of socially, economically and environmentally sustainable capital projects. The extensive projects at Stockholm Arlanda involve numerous stakeholders – from passengers, employees and potential tenants to the national and local governments, the general public and the media. Swedavia was looking for an engaging and effective way to connect with the different stakeholder groups, with the aim of communicating its overall vision and development plans for the airport and attracting businesses to set up operations in the new airport city.

Solution

It was clear from the outset that the forward-looking development plans called for next-generation presentation tools. A design workshop with Swedavia focused on identifying the best possible technological and content solutions. The objective was to enhance and promote the impressive story the client wanted to tell, not to use technology for technology’s sake. Besides offering a top-notch user experience, it was important for the solution to be futureproof – flexible enough to adapt to different display technologies and content updates.

The solution we proposed combines our scalable SMARTSCAPE and SHOWSCAPE frameworks. Our team created an interactive touchscreen application amplified by both AR and VR for a truly versatile extended reality (XR) experience. We utilised the client’s existing digital assets in the production process: CAD models of the airport area and various buildings were repurposed to create compelling 3D animations that visualise Swedavia’s plans. Images and text – in Swedish and English – add to the informative experience.

Digital interactions in 3D, AR and VR

An interactive timeline in the touchscreen experience takes the user through the different stages of the overall development plan from 2025 to 2050. The 3D visuals are ‘playable’ – the user can rotate the 3D view and zoom in and out. Interactive hotspots assist navigation around the virtual airport area and reveal additional information about the individual development projects.

Augmented reality brings the interactive digital content to life in an even richer 3D experience. The user can explore the content from different perspectives for better spatial evaluation and understanding of the buildings and other designs. Interactive hotspots are also functional in the AR experience.

Virtual reality allows the user to take a step further and explore the area as if being there. Immersed in a virtual world, the user can pick up virtual luggage and teleport from one location to another – even jump on top of a building to get a bird’s eye view of the airport and the airport city.

All applications were delivered on a turnkey basis for use in Swedavia’s showroom. The touchscreen experience will also reach a wider audience, engaging air passengers at Stockholm Arlanda, Malmö, Luleå and Umeå airports in Sweden.

Outcome

• A versatile solution that delivers unique digital interactions in 3D, AR and VR – from an on-screen journey across time to an immersive walkthrough in virtual reality
• Adds impressive realism to stakeholder communication – allows access to places that are still out of reach in the real world
• Sparks interest and builds excitement in the client’s vision and plans for the airport of the future – uses the power of 3D visualisation instead of 2D drawings that can be hard to interpret
• A memorable experience that allows interactive access to project details, transforming communication from passive consumption to active exploration of information – users have the freedom to study the content in their own way
• An effective sales enablement tool that helps salespeople pitch the property development projects to prospective clients
• A turnkey delivery of a hybrid 3D and XR solution – with computer-generated content – that accommodates future content updates and display technology changes