Dubai Expo 2020:
Cross-Reality Experience

Overview


Client
World Expo Dubai 2020

Technology
Augmented Reality

Platform
Mobile

Industry
Entertainment Education

Release Date
7th December 2021

Awards
XR Award
Web Excellence Award
Telly Award
NYX Award
Lumieres Award
Lovie Award
COGX Award

Introduction

When the Magnopus team flew to Dubai in 2018 to “have some meetings about a possible World Expo project” they didn’t know quite what to expect. But the brief turned out to be inspiring and compelling and so began a complex journey to make it happen.

“Magnopus and the wider team have unified the most innovative technologies into one integrated experience that truly brings Expo 2020’s creative vision to life in the digital & virtual world.”

- Rehan Asad, Chief Program Officer for Expo 2020 Dubai

The brief

Expo 2020 Dubai promised 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 share the Expo experience and content with a larger global audience.

The solution

Expo Dubai Xplorer is a rich digital experience that allows anyone, anywhere to experience the magic of Expo 2020 Dubai with friends, whether on-site or at home. The multi-player experience was available on iOS and Android during the live event, powered by cloud-hosted services developed by Magnopus.

Key features included:

  • Real-time connectivity between on-site and remote users. Standing on the Expo site, a visitor could see a friend from the other side of the world (viewed through the lens of their phone) as an avatar they can share experiences with, and communicate with via group creation and messaging.

  • One of the largest deployments in the world of persistent Cloud Anchors which allowed millions of on-site visitors to enjoy augmented reality spectacles aligned accurately to real-world locations. Remote visitors could access the same AR content and experiences, over a connected digital twin of the site, via an interface similar to popular mobile games like Fortnite or Roblox.

  • A social, interactive digital twin of the 4.38km² Expo site built from architectural files and enriched with content and experiences. Hundreds of artists working around the world spent more than two years creating the living digital replica, enhancing it with dynamic lighting, art installations, animated experiences, and stunning spectacles. Virtual reality was used to collaboratively develop the designs and experiences so they could be tested before the physical site was even built.

The impact

The gamified platform broke new ground for digital scale and production, expanding Expo 2020 Dubai’s vision of ‘Connecting Minds and Creating the Future’ into the Metaverse.

Our journey with Expo 2020 Dubai began in 2018 designing the visitor experience for the Mobility Pavilion. We quickly discovered that the messages of this Expo needed to be accessible to everyone, anywhere.

Working with the leadership at Expo and hundreds of our team around the world , we designed, developed, and delivered a new way to experience it that could serve as a model for the world of tomorrow.

— Ben Grossmann, Magnopus

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Ready to unite the physical and digital in new ways? We’re here to turn your vision into a reality.

Full Credits

Multiplayer Experience

The multiplayer experience has been in development for nearly three years with world-class partners including Google, Unity Technologies, and Amazon Web Services with key contributions from:

REWIND (experience design and platform development)

Virtuos (3D asset development)

Hexagram (quest narrative design and technology)

Pinscreen (avatar technology with AI-driven face synthesis)

Dog Studio (web development for Virtual Expo connected to content databases)

VIM (BIM conversion technology)

Terahard (activation development)

Activated Realities (activation development)

Source Sound (audio design and development)

Magnopus

Executive Producer - Daisy Leak

Director - Ben Grossmann

Head of Studio, UK - Justin Manning

Director of Technology - Kevin Mullican

Director of Engineering - David Swift

Director of Engineering, UK - Sam Birley

Animation Director - David Weatherly

Art Director - James Grant

Technical Art Director - David Dalzell

Art Director, UK - Erol Kentli

Product Design & Experience Lead - Aisha Sheikh

Lead Narrative Designer - Jeff Leinenveber

Addison Herr

Aileen Semira Jocson

Alejandro Delgado

Alex Xavier

Alicia Mirelez

Allison Comrie

Andreia Rodrigues Do Amaral

Andrew Binder

Andrew Bueno

Andrew Choi

Andrew Dohr

Antonella Mazzoni

Ashley Pinnick

Ben Grossmann

Bobby Speck

Brandon Maraia

Brandon White

Brett Jackson

Brett Skaggs

Brian Magno

Caio Andrade

Ceri Llewellyn

Chad Boyd

Chris Chavira

Chris Cherubini

Chuy Brambila

CJ Savage

Colter Coates

Cosku Turhan

Craig Tolliver

Daniel Klein

Daniel Naulin

Darlene Barahona

Daryl Kimoto

David Carlson

David Dalzell

David Flamburis

David Mazzocco

David Ruzicka

David Swift

David Weatherly

Dean Martinetti

Derek Blume

Derrick Canfield

Devon Mathis

Dirk Rhynsburger

Dylan Markowitz

Elizabeth Bolas

Ellen Montgomery

Fernando Rabelo

Filippo Baraccani

Frank Capezzuto III

Gabriel Blake

Gabriela Montes

Grant Marzette

Gun Tangtrongchit

Haezeline Crayon

Jacob Elseth

James Grant

Janet Hwang

Jared Sain

Jasmine Aguilar

Jason Crosby

Jeff Leinenveber

Jerome Meyers

Jesse Braddock

Jody McAdams

Jonathan Garrity

Jonathan Schoonhoven

Joseph Talbot

Jue Wang

Justin Dykhouse

Justin Schriefer

Kalan Ray

Kat Harris

Katherine Soldevilla

Katie Lafaw

Kellie Brewart

Kevin Mullican

Kevin Shiau

Kimberly Greenough

Kuang-Hsin Liu

Kyle Garrett

Lap Luu

LaTasha Tobias

Liam Fernandez

Lisa Hill

Lorena Rother

Luis Rosario

Luke Schloemer

Mari Long

Maria Matthews

Mark Allen

Marvin Street

Matthew Alcala

Matthew Davis

Max Geiger

Michelle Shyr

Mike Ryan

Miranda Due

Mitch Aseltine

Mitchel Clayton

Nathan Lange

Nicholas Thompson

Nick McClure

Nick Paparazzo

Nico DeLucia

Nigel Budden

Pam Peterson

Paul Im

Pierce Caldwell

Rachel Victor

Ralph Byrd

Ralph Roma

Raquel Kidd

Rey Chang

Richard Zirbes

Russ Klinkerman

Ryan Benno

Ryan Roberts

Sally Slade

Sam Birley

Sam Knudson

Sarah Bailin

Sarah Hudson Semple

Sarah King

Scott Holman

Scott Smith

Seth S. Scott

Steve Chon

Subhechha Bista

Tahnee Sauer

Takki Thammawan

Taolun Guo

Teresa Fitzgerald

Tommy Honton

Tony Kwok

Travis Ngov

Tricia Stokes

Tyler Ohlsen

Tyler Sheedlo

Vini Lembi

Vivek Reddy

Xavier Coelho-Kostolny

Xavier Gonzalez

Yardan Cohen

Yerim Lee

Yiran Zheng

Yong Park

Zachary Rock-Zelazny

Zo Douglass

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