Kampala City just like any other city without a doubt, has its challenges —from traffic jam that takes hours to clear to motorists hurling abuses and insults at each other, the potholes, poor drainage which sometimes turns entire areas into river tributaries every time it rains heavily, the noise pollution and the countless other annoying things we have to endure.
The city will continue to expand, generating more complexities such as urban expansion to support the ever-growing rural-urban migration as people flock to the city for better opportunities. City authorities shall continue to grapple with having to plan for these outcomes and at the same time having to upgrade the city’s infrastructure. This is where emerging technologies come into play. Technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) could help aid in some of the solutions that the city authorities are looking to implement as they try to figure out ways for the betterment of our daily lives in the city.
Implementing augmented reality in urban planning
City authorities in partnership with property developers and architects, could leverage Augmented Reality technology to visualize and plan new infrastructure in and around the city more effectively.
Most of Kampala’s infrastructure was built in the 20th Century and with AR we may have a way to upgrade this City’s landscape to take us through the rest of the 21st Century. AR can also be useful in enhancing the public services of the city like smart drainage systems, streetlight control, waste management, and rainwater harvesting. It can also be beneficial for video surveillance and some freebies like public Wi-Fi.
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Boosting tourism and travel around Kampala
AR can translate, inform, and navigate people about key places of interest, and essentially improve the visitor experience without the need for tour guides and translators. The most frequently visited public spaces in the city, for instance, shopping malls, bars & restaurants, theatres, and historical sites could use AR to create immersive experiences that engage visitors in new and exciting ways. By overlaying digital content onto physical artifacts or locations, AR can bring history and art to life, provide deeper context, and make learning more interactive and enjoyable. These experiences enhance the cultural appeal of cities, attracting tourists and boosting the local economy.
See also: Tripesa, Buganda Kingdom to boost Uganda’s tourism with a focus on Buganda culture
Aiding security forces combat crime
Kampala like any other metropolitan enclave in the world has its fair share of crime. Certain areas of the city are more crime-ridden than others with criminal gangs operating with impunity making life hard for those trying to get by.
Augmented reality combined with object recognition, particularly face recognition, can help authorities highlight people who exhibit malicious behavior or are found in criminal records. Such technology without a doubt is of use to the Criminal Investigative Division who work day and night trying to apprehend those causing upheaval among the residents of Kampala.
So, augmented reality technology will be fused into almost every built-in urban environment in the future. Such technology shall have a hand in how future cities in Uganda shall operate in their day-to-day operations ensuring efficient management of the countless business processes that occur in our cities daily. With AR, Kampala would no doubt be a hub for development and technological advancement across Africa.
See also: Uganda’s e-mobility progress: when will electric trains be tested?
