A virtual tour of Linz Beyond Curiosity

The joint project by Linz Tourismus and the Ars Electronica Futurelab takes visitors on a participatory virtual tour of Linz, the capital of Upper Austria. This artistic interpretation of the UNESCO City of Media Arts uses state-of-the-art 3D Gaussian Splatting technology to travel to the city's sights in an unconventional way.

At the Expo 2025 world exhibition in Osaka, Japan, Linz is presenting itself with a virtual city tour that will celebrate its premiere in the Austria Pavilion on 16 April - in line with Linz Tourism's new brand identity ‘Take a risk, visit Linz’. The new claim is not just about visiting the city, but about engaging in a different kind of travelling. At the same time, the claim is an invitation to discover - off the beaten track and a well-timed journey. Of course, surrendering to chance and not planning everything also harbours a risk. A risk with a twinkle in the eye that pays off. Beyond Curiosity is based precisely on this philosophy, deliberately not showing everything and leaving room for the unknown.

The technology behind Beyond Curiosity is based on Gaussian Splatting, an innovative process that converts photos into highly detailed 3D data. Typically, Gaussian Splatting is used to create highly realistic 3D reconstructions. In Beyond Curiosity, however, this technology was used in an interpretative way to deconstruct reality rather than recreate it. This shift from pure representation to artistic interpretation enables new creative approaches and creates a specific visual language within 3D visualisation. Over 200 such 3D scenes or ‘splats’ and 360° video recordings were used to depict the landmarks of Linz.

Beyond Curiosity Video locations across Linz

The tour flies from the main square via the Tabakfabrik, to the Mural Harbour, to Johannes Kepler University and back again through the most diverse sights of Linz. If you would like to take a closer look at the individual locations, you will find all the film's stops marked on the map.

Simply click through Linz again City center Linz

App Scaniverse - 3D Scanner

Fancy your own tour? No problem, with the Scaniverse app you can create and share your own scans. How it works is shown here.

Download from Google Play Store

Download from Apple App Store

https://youtu.be/KGps6Bn9j5E?si=97fhoYb-3PeHxCEu
https://youtube.com/watch?v=KGps6Bn9j5E

BEYOND CURIOSITY Concept: Maria Pfeifer, Denise Hirtenfelder, Nicolas Naveau, Johannes Pöll Design Lead: Johannes Pöll Scans & Videoproduction: Johannes Pöll, Raphael Schaumburg-Lippe, Nicolas Naveau Music & Sounddesign: Arno Deutschbauer Tutorial Video: Raphael Schaumburg-Lippe, Kerstin Blätterbinder Workshop: Johannes Pöll, Denise Hirtenfelder Project Management: Denise Hirtenfelder Artistic Consultance: Hideaki Ogawa

Curious about Linz? Then come and visit!

Enjoy a wonderful time on both sides of the Danube. Don't forget: on 23 and 24 May we invite you to the Festival of Curiosity in the memorable Tabakfabrik.