Street view in Belfast with colorful mural and billboard, public phone booth, and residential and commercial buildings under cloudy sky.
A black silhouette of a football player preparing to throw a football.

Augment the City Challenge by Belfast City Council

A Community of Voices

The Belfast Memory Machine is about giving a voice to the city. It is an immersive storytelling project that captures personal memories, cultural traditions, and lived experiences from the people of Belfast. It creates a space where voices from different backgrounds come together, preserving stories that might otherwise be lost. By fostering a sense of community and trust, the project encourages intergenerational dialogue, allowing people to connect with their past and shape a shared cultural identity for the future. As stories are recorded, they become part of a growing, evolving archive, ensuring that Belfast’s rich tapestry of voices is never forgotten.

Line drawing of a historic building with ornate architectural details, labeled 'St. Borge's Arct', with the title 'Memory Machine' above.

How It Comes to Life

The Belfast Memory Machine is a story collection machine that invites users to interact with tactile 3D models, see augmented reality overlays of memories in Belfast, and speak to an AI-powered bot that helps them share their own experiences. Designed to build trust and encourage storytelling, it captures and preserves personal narratives, creating a dynamic and evolving archive of voices from across the city.

Small white architectural models of buildings and structures placed on a wooden bench outdoors.
Three smartphones displaying the Belfast Memory Machine app interface. The first screen shows instructions on how to use the app, including scanning miniature models, tapping hotspots, rotating the device, and sharing stories. The second screen features the Belfast Memory Machine logo and a cityscape silhouette with a button labeled ‘Unlock Memories’. The third screen invites users to share a memory with a ‘Start Chatting’ button, accompanied by speech bubble icons and a message about storytelling.
Historical scene of a marketplace with people in vintage clothing, a vegetable stand, and a

A Collaborative Vision

The Belfast Memory Machine is part of the Augment the City Challenge Fund, an R&D initiative launched in Spring 2024 with a £575,000 investment from the Belfast Region City Deal. This challenge supports SMEs like SENSEcity in pushing the boundaries of immersive technology.

Currently under development, the Belfast Memory Machine has the potential to expand into heritage sites, museums, theatres, and cultural venues across Belfast and beyond. Blending personal narratives with innovative technology is poised to transform how people connect with their own stories and their community.

We are excited to bring this vision to life and invite you to be a part of it.