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WebAR — in the browser

Raise your phone. Watch the district breathe.

A digital layer over the alleys of Al Fahidi: place labels float around you, and old photographs of Dubai settle over the scene in front of you — all inside the browser, with nothing to install.

Two ways in

Live AR — camera

Your phone's camera and compass become a magic window: point the phone around the district and floating labels reveal what you are looking at. Scan the printed Al Fahidi marker to anchor a 3D wind tower and an old-photo alignment card.

Best on a phone over HTTPS (localhost works for development).

Simulator — no camera

A panoramic sweep of the district with the same floating labels and info hotspots. Built for projectors, juries and desktops — the demo never depends on a camera.

Works on any device: drag the scene, use the arrow keys, or the angle slider.

How it works

  1. Pick a mode: the camera on your phone, or the simulator on any screen.

  2. Allow camera and motion-sensor access when the browser asks.

  3. Move your device — or drag the scene — to explore the floating labels and open their stories.

  4. Print the Al Fahidi marker (or show it on a second screen) and scan it in live AR.

The Al Fahidi marker

A high-contrast wind-tower glyph. Print it on A5/A4 paper or display it on another screen, then scan it in live AR to summon the 3D barjeel and the old-photo card.

Printable AR marker: a geometric black, white and gold wind-tower glyph
Download the marker (PNG)

Matte paper and even lighting track best.

From the Dubai archive

Three public-domain photographs travel with the experience — blend them over the live scene with the before/after slider.

Dubai Creek, 1964
Dubai Creek, 1964
Al Ras, Deira — mid-1960s
Al Ras, Deira — mid-1960s
Sheikh Saeed and Sheikh Juma Al Maktoum, 1950
Sheikh Saeed and Sheikh Juma Al Maktoum, 1950

Photo credits

Historical photographs via Wikimedia Commons, public domain: “Dubai Creek 1964” and “Al Ras, Deira, mid-1960s” by Noor Ali; “Sheikh Saeed and Sheikh Juma Al Maktoum, 1950”, photographer unknown. Wikimedia Commons Public domain.