Smartify Enhances Visitor Engagement with

XR Technology through UWS Collaboration

Smartify, a London-based tech company serving the arts, culture, and heritage sector, connects cultural destinations with their visitors through an innovative digital platform. By June 2023, it had reached over 4 million users, offering cutting-edge tools to enhance the visitor experience and expand audience reach.

To further innovate, Smartify sought to develop a scalable, cost-effective XR (Extended Reality) infrastructure that could be integrated into their app across multiple platforms (iOS, Android, and Web). Sourcing extensive AR/VR/XR experience through a collaboration with Dr Marco Gilardi from the Division of Computing at the University of the West of Scotland they created XR applications using web technologies and successfully developed proof of concepts, leading to a commercial XR solution that enhanced Smartify’s technological capabilities and market presence in Scotland.


“Overall the experience of the collaboration has been very positive and beneficial for the UWS Creative Computing Technologies Research group, as it has helped to develop a strong relationship with Smartify. The objective of the project in developing proof of concepts and testing them with the market was achieved successfully and led to the delivery of a commercial project as a result. The project benefitted UWS by helping a PhD student gain hands-on industry experience as well as forming a new connection with the company, which led to an Accelerated Knowledge Transfer to Innovate Project and a Knowledge Transfer Partnership.”

Dr Marco Gilardi, Lecturer in Computing, University of the West of Scotland

Last Updated: Sept 2024

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