Belfast City Council has awarded £100,000 to three local companies to develop prototypes for innovative tourism experiences, as part of the "Augment the City" programme.

Led by the Council's City Innovation Office, this 18-month initiative aims to leverage cutting-edge immersive technology and wireless connectivity to inspire both locals and visitors to share their "Belfast Story".

Having progressed through earlier stages, these three companies will now spend the next six months transforming their concepts into fully functional prototypes, which will then be trialled in real-world settings across the city.

The successful companies and their pioneering concepts are:

• Hamilton Robson's Belfast Stories Generator (a collaboration with 1Up Studios and Nerve Centre): This project features an AI-powered interviewer and holographic interface designed to encourage natural conversations and act as a powerful story discovery tool. The final prototype aims to be a scalable, searchable archive capturing authentic, unfiltered "Belfast Stories."

• Liquid City's Amergin: This team will develop a simple story tool that uses an AI interviewer to facilitate storytelling by anyone, anywhere, directly on their mobile device.

• Ekaterina Solomatina's Memory Fractal Belfast: This concept will utilise a mixed reality experience to inspire, capture, and share personal and cultural memories, particularly from lesser-heard voices within Belfast's communities. High Sheriff of Belfast, Councillor Fiona McAteer, commented: "We're a nation of storytellers. Building on this strength, Augment the City is encouraging innovators to explore how our tourism experiences can revolutionise how we share this aspect of our lives with others. I'm particularly excited about the potential of immersive tech to help lesser heard communities shape the content of new attractions. It's our goal that Belfast Stories, our landmark visitor experience, public space and creative hub which is expected to open by 2030 on Royal Avenue, will incorporate these types of innovations to make it a global destination."

Dr Adrian Johnston MBE, Chair of the Belfast Region City Deal's Digital Advisory Board and Innovation Commissioner for Belfast, highlighted the broader economic impact: "Augment the City has been funded through the Digital Pillar of Belfast Region City Deal, with additional contributions from Belfast City Council. First and foremost, it's about supporting collaborative innovation across sectors for local economic and social impact. And it's about encouraging our SMEs and entrepreneurs to adopt digital technologies to support them on their own journey of success. From what we've seen from all the companies involved in Augment the City, there are some truly exciting concepts here that have the potential to go global."

The programme, part of the wider Belfast Region City Deal, aims to position Belfast as a leader in digital innovation and enhance its visitor economy by creating compelling, technologically advanced attractions.

For more information on Augment the City, visit www.smartbelfast.city or on the Belfast Region City Deal programme of investment, visit www.belfastregioncitydeal.co.uk