A new and innovative AR application allows visitors to the kosel to experience the leviim singing in the azarah, the olei regalim ascending to Yerushalayim, and even navigate through significant periods and landmarks in the history of the site from the bayis sheini period.
The Kosel Heritage Foundation is launching, for the first time, an augmented reality (AR) application that allows millions of visitors to experience their visit to the Kosel in an experiential way, providing a 2,000-year historical perspective.
The application, named “Kotel AR,” incorporates cutting-edge augmented reality technology that essentially identifies the real world through the smart device’s camera (smartphone) by scanning the space at the Kosel and overlays virtual information onto it. Users of the application, therefore, observe both the physical reality and the virtual reality simultaneously, all in one view.
As part of the new service, which is open to the general public free of charge and is available for download on Android and iOS devices, visitors can virtually see what they would have seen 2,000 years ago from the exact point they are standing now. In this way, they can gain a detailed understanding of the dimensions and sections of the Kosel, observe the royal portico columns that adorned the beis hamikdash, experience the leviim singing in the azarah, sense the ambience of the olei regalim ascending to Yerushalayim, witness the birchas kohanim from a bird’s-eye view, and even navigate through significant periods and landmarks in the history of the site from the bayis sheini period.
The Kotel AR app is available on iOS and Android.
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