My Virtual Merri-bek App

Project overview

As part of the Smart Cities and Suburbs grant received from the Australian Government, Merri-bek City Council partnered with XR (extended reality) experts Lost In The Machine to develop the My Virtual Merri-bek iOS and Android App, for the council and community.

Through the use augmented reality, the My Virtual Merri-bek app aims to bring visual transparency to planning applications within Merri-bek. Anyone with a compatible smart phone can retrieve a 3d model of select planning applications and view them in AR – on location or on a tabletop. Where previously there would be concept sketches, now a user can view potential visual impacts at scale, i.e. overshadowing or overlooking views into another property. 

The My Virtual Merri-bek app also provides the community with a better way of gathering vital information about advertised planning applications using a variety of user friendly and intuitive search tools. Users can searching by address, keywords, application number or by simply viewing all advertised planning applications as pinned locations on a map of Merri-bek.

The My Virtual Merri-bek app features two AR modes:

Indoor AR mode allows users to view a miniature version of proposed developments in context using a simple printable AR marker on a table top. A 360 mode also allows the user to simulate a 1:1 scale 360 view from any position such as rooftops, balconies and ground level.

Outdoor AR mode is a location based mode which overlays a 3D model of the proposed development at the site of the application allowing the user to visualise the proposed development at 1:1 scale from any angle.