The towARds team at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center is developing a mobile augmented reality (AR) experience grounded in American history. The project reimagines the National Road, the nation’s first federally funded highway, which connected Cumberland, Maryland to Vandalia, Illinois and shaped the country’s development during the early 19th century. Using Niantic’s SDK for Unity to detect different semantic layers, such as the ground, buildings, and sky, this AR application brings the National Road to any open outdoor environment, transforming a smartphone into a portal across time and space. Players can witness the National Road's evolution from the age of Conestoga wagons to the era of automobiles while exploring the rich history of toll houses and taverns that grew alongside this vital thoroughfare. This project serves as an immersive window to the past, allowing players to experience firsthand how the National Road influenced American life and community development.
