Yesterday we told you about an interactive scavenger hunt going on in Dublin, Ireland that is using Layar to help players find treasures and win prizes. These types of hunts fit nicely into the realm of Augmented Reality whether the players are searching for digital tokens or for actual educational information.

“Expeditie Deventer” (Expedition Deventer) is an interesting new project that uses Layar to focus on the latter of these two examples - helping people, namely high school students, learn more about the city of Deventer. The game was commissioned by the Public Library Deventer to teach students about the past, present and future of the city and to establish the library as the city’s information center.

The game is played by a group of students split into two teams - one which stays inside at the library and another which roams the streets of Deventer hunting down clues. The students use Layar on their smartphones to complete tasks, earn points, communicate and - most importantly - discover the city in a new way.

3D objects, images and videos can be found in various places throughout the city to help the students solve the questions and assignments. The inside team takes the clues discovered outside and researches them at the library using the Internet or other library resources.

The Expeditie Deventer project was recently awarded the prize for best online education application at the 2010 Dutch Digitaal Erfgoed (Digital Heritage) conference - a testament to the educational value that can be produced through Augmented Reality. Layar is a powerful platform for creating unique educational experiences, and its accessibility on smartphones adds an extra level of appeal to the youth in this case.

To learn more about Expeditie Deventer, check out the project’s homepage, the case study by developers Fabrique and watch the video below!

Layer: Expeditie Deventer
Location: Deventer, The Netherlands
Required: iPhone or Android device
More info: Expeditie Deventer Homepage
Developer: Fabrique

Anyone who has seen the Pixar movie WALL-E remembers the scene as the lovable robot hero escapes Earth by stowing away on the outside of a spaceship. As the ship leaves the planet’s atmosphere, it bursts through an orbiting junkyard of satellites and space junk which encircle the planet.

This is actually not far from reality. You may be surprised to realize that there are actually thousands of satellites orbiting our planet at the moment. If our eyes were sharp enough, we could see dozens of satellites at any point in time, and thanks to a new layer from Italian developers G-maps, now we can.

With the new layer “Sat Tracker,” you can see where satellites are in the sky above you. Holding your phone up to the sky will reveal the locations of the satellites, which are pulled from the United States Strategic Command (USSSTRATCOM) database and updated every 5 minutes.

By tapping on a satellite you can view a wealth of information, including the identification number, country of origin, launch date, launch location and much more. You can also view detailed information from CelesTrak, as well as a map of the satellite’s trajectory over the planet.

The information provided in the layer is presented in a way that will fascinate the more scientific users while still being accessible to casual users. An experience like this truly works best in Augmented Reality. There is a difference between seeing satellites on a map and viewing them above you in the sky. Perhaps on a clear night, you can spot the satellites themselves hovering above us.

Layer: Sat Tracker
Location: Worldwide
Required: iPhone or Android device
More info: Sat Tracker by G-maps
Developer: G-maps