The Swedish History Museum AR – befriend the lonely lion

The lonely lion

At the end of 2019, the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm launched a new guide for children using AR (augmented reality). The mission: find a friend for the lonely Piraeus Lion, a large stone sculpture in the museum's entrance hall.

Along the way, the children meet strange, quirky and wonderful objects from Swedish history. When they have completed their mission, a little surprise awaits them at reception: a pin with a picture of the lion.

With OnSpotStory's help, the museum has also created a complete audio guide solution – read more in the case The Swedish History Museum – history accessible to all.

What is AR?

AR is a broad term that can cover many different techniques and features. In this case, visitors borrow a player at the museum's reception. The players run an OnSpotStory app with built-in AR, which means the app can recognise images or objects. When the camera recognises a specific image (or object), the app shows specific content.

Visitors point the player's camera at different objects and "scan" them. When they find the right object, it unlocks and an audio track starts to play.

Listening to the audio gives them a clue to where the next object is!