Augmented Reality Experience at EXPO 2025
For Expo 2025 in Osaka, we teamed up with the Innovation and Digitalisation department of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce to create something special for the Austrian Pavilion: an augmented reality experience that turned waiting time into part of the visit. Instead of just standing in line, visitors were invited to explore and interact with future technologies — all through AR.
The project featured the Innovation Map, an interactive tool that presents visionary technologies, which are likely to shape our future. The innovation map is divided in five clusters, each including several featured innovations that address key challenges and possibilities for the future — from solar energy solutions and biotech to smart infrastructure and AI-driven tools.
The aim was to present the Innovation map to the visitors of the Austrian pavilion, as well as get their thoughts and feedback on featured technologies. The experience was presented outside of the Austrian pavilion to ensure engagement with the visitors queuing to enter. Ten custom-designed stickers were designed, each of them reflecting the technologies featured on the innovation map. The stickers were placed on poles along the queuing area. Visitors could scan these stickers with their smartphones to trigger an interactive AR survey.
At each point, a 3D version of the Austrian Pavilion mascot, Aka-Shiro-Aka, appeared on screen to introduce the technology and guide visitors through a critical thinking question. The questions were displayed directly in AR and focused on the broader relevance, future impact, and ethical considerations of each technology. This wasn’t just information — it invited visitors to share their thoughts and perspectives. The survey outcomes present an important insight for the innovation map regarding people‘s insight about the technologies of tomorrow.
We also created AR postcards, which matched the design of the stickers for visitors to take home with them. The postcards were also showcased at other events, highlighting the Innovation Map. This did not only allow the Innovation Map team to share this project with other audiences, but also made it possible to reuse the designs.
This custom-created project was not only beneficial to the visitors of the pavilion who were able to learn about the future of innovation and share their perspective, but also for the Austrian pavilion at Expo 2025. The AR experience added a new, memorable element, which made enhanced the visitor engagement, and made the pavilion even more attractive to visitors.
