This last spring, the city put out a call for submissions to a new competition that would blend the city’s physical world with the digital using augmented reality, or AR, technology.

That competition, the inaugural Long Beach Augmented Reality (AR) Challenge, will kick off on Sunday, Aug. 8 in Downtown where locals will be able to interact with businesses, murals, buildings and other attractions using their smartphones.

During the competition, participants will be able to vote for their favorite AR exhibit and the winner will receive a cash prize from a $14,000 pool.

“We see it as an opportunity to get folks in Downtown Long Beach, enjoying some of the local restaurants that are there along The Promenade …. And also engaging them through AR and through art,” said Ryan Kurtzman, program manager of the Long Beach Smart Cities Initiative, who spearheaded the competition.

Though the AR Challenge may be the first of its kind, Long Beach has flirted with the technology before. In 2016, the city brought to life the mural at Harvey Milk Park and used the technology to educate guests about the beloved LGBTQ icon.

For the uninitiated, AR technology essentially lays a computer-generated image, graphic, or animation over a users’ real-world view. Generally, that’s achieved with a cell phone or gaming console.

Back in 2016, when the wildly popular AR game Pokémon Go covered the globe, Long Beach was transformed into a Pokémon hunting playground that galvanized throngs of users to the streets in search of the exotic battle monsters. The craze has since faded, but the technology is still being explored.

Long Beach Police Surprise Pokemon Go Players at Shoreline Park

Most might still associate AR for entertainment and leisure purposes, but Kurtzman and the team at the Smart Cities Initiative believe the potential for the technology to be used on a civic or municipal level is largely untapped.

Backed by a 2021 grant from U.S. Ignite and Facebook Reality Labs, Smart Cities Initiative launched the AR Challenge and required its participants to demonstrate how they think their AR solution could connect Downtown’s “historic past, diverse present or emergent future.”

Key categories within that theme included ideas relating to business improvement, business recovery, economic development and arts and culture.

The competition received 27 submissions, “which was wonderful,” Kurtzman said. About half of those were Long Beach, the rest from individuals and developer teams in and out of the U.S.

So, what can you expect if you decide to venture outside Sunday?

Some developers went the face filter route, including one designed to help promote hot dog restaurant, Dog Haus. Using either Instagram or the Facebook app, participants will scan a QR code that will unlock a face filter game where the user will open their mouth to try and “eat” hot dogs falling from the sky.

Some other business-centric exhibits will highlight Leo’s Mexican Grill and American tavern, The Ordinarie.

Others decided to use “world objects” that highlight Long Beach history. One example Kurtzman gave will depict the famous Spruce Goose airplane flying over the area. Some local murals will be brought to life by animation.

One exhibition Kurtzman said he’s particularly excited about by developers inCitu, will allow users to see the future, so to speak, by showing the finished product of the construction site on Broadway and The Promenade via an AR rendering.

The bulk of the event will take place along The Promenade area though there will be exhibits, or “trigger points” on Broadway down to the historic Psychic Temple of the Holy Kiss building and on Long Beach Boulevard toward Fourth Street.

Organizers will provide maps for participants to find all 25 trigger points. Guests are encouraged to start at Harvey Milk Park where DJ Cool Miq will perform a live set throughout the day.

The event runs from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8. The prize ceremony will begin at 4 p.m., where contestants will be honored and awarded from the $14,000 prize money based on jury decisions and votes by participants.

It’s unclear whether the AR exhibits will remain a permanent fixture in the Downtown area, but Kurtzman said the exhibits will be up for public use two weeks after the competition. The event is free to attend.

Harvey Milk Park is at 185 E. Third St.