Portyl

The Portyl app uses state of the art Extended Reality (XR) combined with incredible 3D graphics to recreate historical sites the way they looked thousands of years ago.

The magic of Portyl is how precise it places the reconstructed sites over the top of the current ruins enabling tourists to walk around and experience history through their phone/tablet screen.

In Rome, for instance, you not only see the reconstructions, but also the citizens, soldiers, war elephants, chariots – the daily life and spectacle that was ancient Rome.

For historical accuracy, all portal venues are created under the consultation of prominent Roman Historians and Archeologists.

PORTYL FEATURES:
• Advanced XR high-resolution 3D recreations
• Fully animated creatures and characters
• 19 languages currently supported (more languages every month!)
• Full Audio support including sound effects and spoken narration
• Integrated Map with navigation

HOW TO USE PORTYL:
• After installing Portyl, click on a thumbnail and choose a Tour Pass option (note that Largo Argentina is free to view when you aren’t on-site).
• Download the venues from the Tours page (preferably by WIFI).
• Use the map to navigate to one of the locations or, if you are Off-Site, experience the XR recreation from the comfort of your home/office/hotel.
• Once at a location a large thumbnail on the tours page will indicate the venue you can experience On-Site.
• Click the thumbnail select one of the following (if both are available):
o LAUNCH POINT:
You will see a picture of an information placard, fountain, doorway, sign or unique feature which helps us identify where you are standing. Select this option and simply point your phone camera at the indicated feature to launch the recreation. Launch Points are a more precise placement of the recreation.
o FREE RANGE:
You will see a picture of the Free Range Target and a crosshair which indicates where to aim your phone's camera (the center of an arch or a fountain). Free Range has the advantage of launching the recreation from anywhere, however, Free Range placement of the recreation can be less accurate.

• Once in the XR experience, tap the screen and you will be given the following choices:
o QR Code Button at the top which you can use to show other people how to get the app.
o Close Button to exit the XR experience
o Narration Button to Turn Narration on and off.
o Character Button to hide or show Characters.
o Teleport Button to move to another location in the venue.
o Transparency Button which will “see through” the recreation allowing you to see the present day and how the recreation is aligned over the top of it.
o Transparency Slider which you can use to adjust how transparent the recreation is when clicking the Transparency Button.

MINIMUM HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS:
Portyl is a geo-located real-time rendered 3d environment. It requires a lot of horsepower!
In general the higher-end device you have, the better experience, certainly something less than 5 years old, and a higher-end model.

RECOMMENDED: iPhone 11 or newer with at least 4GB RAM

PERMISSIONS REQUIRED:
• Location: Portyl requires access to your device's location to place you in the virtual world as well as for map navigation.
• Microphone: Portyl needs to "hear" your questions for some AI features.
• Camera: Portyl needs to "see" where you are in the real world to launch XR scenes and place you in the virtual world.- Data Services: Not a permission, but a requirement for use. WiFi or 5G

PERMISSIONS REQUESTED:
• Notifications: For instance, notifications when a user comes within 50 km of an available site or when a venue has finished downloading. Occasional app updates, etc. No spamming and incessant notifications.

Photos and Videos: As we add features like the Portyl Selfie feature, screenshot sharing, etc.