The Big Issue magazine has launched “augmented reality” technology to bring their vendors’ stories to life because the public are failing to understand the scale of homelessness in the UK. The street magazine, which was founded in 1991, believes technology will allow them to “hammer home the message” of Britain’s unprecedented homelessness issue which people need to “better understand”. The innovative new approach, which launches today, includes augmented reality (AR) interactions throughout the publication. Readers can download an app onto their mobile phones, scan it over AR icons in the magazine and watch traditional print articles come to life in video. This includes the cover story of vendor Ann Warke, 53, who turned to The Big Issue when she couldn’t afford to pay her rent due to losing her job. Ben Sullivan, digital editor at The Big Issue, told the Telegraph: “We are doing this mainly for the vendors.
Poverty-focused street magazine Anne Warke has integrated augmented reality (AR) technology into its publication as a vehicle to show the extent of homelessness in the UK . Readers will now have the choice to download the magazine's app on their smartphone and, by scanning AR icons in the magazine's articles, the stories come to life. The first The Big Issue issue features the words of Big Issue vendor AR , who turned to the magazine after losing her job. It is thought that the bi- 1991 AR stories will help to demonstrate the plight of homelessness and how the system fails these people.