Augmented reality, commonly shortened to AR, is an enhanced version of reality that lets people superimpose digital content such as images, sounds, and text over a real-world environment, viewed through your phone's camera.

You need to visit each AR installation in person. Once you are at a stop, locate the QR code on the vinyl wayfinding “drop” vinyl near location and scan it with your phone camera. This will open the AR experience on your device! No downloads except 3 special locations.

• A newer-model smartphone with a camera. Due to the wide range of phone models, we are unable to confirm compatibility with every device.

• A QR code reader to activate the experience. This is built into most iPhone cameras. Some Android phones may require a free QR reader app from the Google Play store.

• If you do not have access to a mobile device, devices are available to borrow on site through our accessibility program.

• Scan the QR code from the vinyl sign at your stop. On most iPhones, open your camera, point it at the QR code, and tap the pop-up. Android users may need to download a free QR reader app.

• If the experience opened but you cannot see the AR, try pointing your phone at a flat surface like the ground and tapping the screen to activate it. You can also try pointing directly at the artwork.

• If nothing is working, close your browser fully and try again.

Comfortable shoes are your best friend on this one! The full route is about 3.5 miles on public sidewalks, so dress for the weather and wear footwear you can walk in, or any other tool you are using to get around.

Future Arts Way takes place on open, outdoor public sidewalks and can be explored any time, 24/7.

Future Arts Way volunteers will be present during scheduled AR Tours most Sundays to assist with any questions or issues.

Downtown Seattle Association safety officers are roaming the area often, so look out for them if you have any issues.

Partner businesses along the way are good places to go inside and cool down, use restrooms, or grab a snack!

Future Arts Way is committed to creating a welcoming space for people of all ages, genders, backgrounds, abilities, income levels, and sexual orientations.

We ask everyone to be mindful of the energy they bring, respect personal space, and promote positivity in the backyard of a diverse environment of Downtown Seattle.

If there are ways we can make your experience more comfortable, we want to hear from you at hello@futurearts.co

Yes, and we want you to feel confident about that. AR experiences need access to your camera and location in order to work. When you open one for the first time, your device will ask you to grant those permissions before anything starts. You are always in control of what you allow.

No personal or identifiable information is ever collected or stored. Any session data is discarded when you finish your experience. The only exception is that anonymized, non-identifying data may be aggregated over time to help us understand how the technology is performing and improve it for future visitors. Think of it like a website tracking how many people visited a page, with no record of who those people were.

If you have specific questions or concerns about data and privacy, reach out to us at hello@futurearts.co and we are happy to talk through it.

Not quite, though the two acronyms are easy to mix up. AI stands for artificial intelligence, which refers to computer systems that learn, reason, and make decisions. AR stands for augmented reality, which layers digital content over the physical world through your phone's camera.

AR sometimes relies on certain AI technologies to function, like computer vision and visual positioning, but experiencing AR does not mean you are interacting with AI in the way most people think of it. They are sometimes related, but they are not the same thing. Future Arts is committed to extremely intentional ways of using AI if we ever do.