Expo Dubai Xplorer

THE BRIEF

Expo 2020 Dubai promised the world to host, not only the best ever physical Expo, but also the very best virtual Expo. That commitment and the COVID-19 pandemic challenged Magnopus to find a way to enhance and share the Expo experience with a larger global audience.

THE IDEA

Expo Dubai Xplorer consists of two key components united by complex interoperable technologies—a digital layer of content to enhance the real-world Expo; and a digital twin of the 4.38km² site, filled with inspiring experiences and more than 200 buildings from the world’s leading architects.

The multi-player experience is accessible through mobile apps, web, and cloud technologies—anyone, anywhere can experience the magic of the Expo and connect in real-time in shared experiences.

The experience is packed with a huge assortment of digital art installations located throughout the site to reveal insightful stories of the UAE, Expo 2020 themes, country pavilions, and the little details of the site itself that transcend what’s physically present. More than just spectacles, these activations invited users to engage with the World Expo in meaningful ways that earned progress towards “Seeds of Change”, which they could pledge to real-world causes. Real-time connectivity between on-site and remote users furthered reach and engagement.

One of the largest deployments in the world of persistent Cloud Anchors allowed millions of on-site visitors to enjoy augmented reality spectacles aligned accurately to real-world locations. Remote visitors can access the same AR content over a connected digital twin of the site, via an interface similar to popular mobile games like Fortnite or Roblox. Geospatial authoring interfaces and global content delivery networks enabled creators to release new interactive AR experiences, in real-time, relevant to a visitor’s position on the site.

Hundreds of artists working around the world spent more than two years creating the living digital replica of the 4.38km² Expo site, enhancing it with dynamic lighting, stunning art installations, and animated experiences. The digital twin was built to a high degree of accuracy—a 1:1 scale from the architect’s CAD files.