Wyndham City to use virtual reality headsets to showcase future city developments

A LOCAL city council has developed mixed or ‘virtual’ reality headsets to showcase future city developments, allowing stakeholders to walk around yet to be built infrastructure.

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A LOCAL city council is offering a glimpse of the future for the western suburbs with the help of revolutionary holographic technology.

In an Australian first, Wyndham City council has developed mixed or ‘virtual’ reality headsets to showcase future city developments.
Stakeholders will be able to walk around yet to be built infrastructure which is projected in three dimension using holographic images.

Project Director Dr Adam Mowlam said the cutting-edge technology will give locals an insight into the major redevelopment of Werribee’s CBD before the first brick has even been laid.

“To create building and modelling in 3D that you can walk through and look at from all the different angles, and see how it impacts on the built environment was the goal,” Dr Mowlam said.

“What we’re hoping to do is allow people to really understand what’s happening, whether they’re from technical or non-technical backgrounds,” Dr Mowlam said.

Project Director Dr. Adam Mowlam uses a headset to inspect plans on a building site at Chirnside Park. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

The groundbreaking technology won the ‘Innovation to Create More Liveable Australian Cities’ award at last week’s National Awards for Local Government and is attracting interest from around the country and abroad.

“No one has seen anything like it before — their minds are blown straight away so it takes a while for the excitement to wear off.” Dr Mowlam said.

Wyndham’s Smart City portfolio holder, Councillor Aaron An said he hopes the technology will help fix the current gaps in Wyndham City’s infrastructure.

“We are one of the fastest growing municipalities in the country and there are definitely infrastructure gaps across our city,” Mr An said.

Holographic image of planned high-rise building as seen through virtual reality headsets. Picture: Supplied

“We are serious about fixing these issues and the mixed reality technology is a fresh, new way of improving the way the city plans for its future,” he said.

It comes as Wyndham Council announced in September a $250 million redevelopment that is set to dramatically change the landscape of the western suburbs city.

Earmarked as the new capital of Melbourne’s west, the council approved four city centre projects that will deliver 5000 sqm of office space, 2500 sqm of retail/cafe space, 1400 new parking spaces, 300 residential apartments and 100 serviced apartments to accommodate visitors.

@GenevieveAlison