Wargaming returns to The Australian Armour and Artillery Museum to give visitors a virtual taste of World of Tanks
Wargaming has today announced that it will bring its StrumTiger mixed reality experience to this year’s AusArmourfest event at The Australian Armour and Artillery Museum in Cairns. After a global unveiling in the UK earlier in the year, the event on the 2-3 September will be the first time the virtual reality scenario will be available to the Australian public.
This first-of-its kind interactive installation was previously displayed at The Tank Museum in Dorset to fill a gap in its Tiger exhibition, which brought together all the members of the Tiger family for the first time since WW2.
Only eighteen SturmTiger tanks ever built, with just three left in the world, tank and history enthusiasts can come face-to-face with a virtual replica of the StrumTiger tank as the installation comes to Cairns.
As well as this interactive installation, AusArmourfest will feature over a dozen historic vehicles, including the Australian Cruiser (AC) “Sentinel” gifted by Wargaming in 2016. Many of these crafts will be driving around on the museum grounds, providing an opportunity for visitors to ride in them and to experience combat-like conditions.
ANZ Country Manager, Travis Plane, said he was thrilled to collaborate with the Museum again and have the chance to expose the community to a piece of history through a unique experience.
“We are proud to continue working with The Australian Armour and Artillery Museum. AusArmourfest is a rare event that gives the Australian public the opportunity to take a trip back in time and to get up close to these impressive, ‘combat condition’ vehicles,” said Travis.
“AusArmourfest is the perfect event to also showcase the growing capabilities of mixed reality technologies, with the StrumTiger experience offering guests the chance to truly immerse themselves in history.”
Created in partnership with App Developer Gravity Jack, Wargaming used Google’s Tango platform and Microsoft’s Hololens to create an Augmented Reality experience that allows museum goers to see a life-size model of the tank appear by using a Tango-enabled phone – or by donning a Hololens VR headset.
At AusArmourfest, guests will be invited to walk around the tank, step inside to see the crew compartment and even see it move and fire its bunker-busting 380 mm rocket.
“Augmented Reality gives us the ability to showcase the impressive size and capabilities of these vehicles that is not possible by just viewing a physical tank. We can narrate what the viewer sees and heighten the experience for them in a way that creates a much more vivid impression long after they have left The Australian Armour and Artillery Museum,” Travis said.
For more information, visit the Australian Armour and Artillery Museum’s Website