Sandflat Heroes: AR Sign

Jun 1
2 min read

Updated: Jun 10

Hands hold a tablet showing an augmented reality poster with blue map pins and menu buttons in an aquarium.

University of Auckland

Marine Discovery Centre

Sand-flat Heroes is a free AR game for aquariums. Scan a sign and watch a hidden sand-flat world burst to life, from cockles to bamboo worms, showing why these fragile habitats matter.

Sand-flat Heroes is designed for all ages and is deployable across any aquarium. It turns an often overlooked ecosystem into an unforgettable experience that leaves visitors with a genuine appreciation for why these fragile habitats deserve protection.

Deployments: New Zealand

Model: Augmented Reality · App recycled Availability: Free · All devices · Location based

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmW57OTFvR8

How do we turn an ecosystem into a living classroom where people could see, feel, and play their way to a better understanding of environmental health?

At first glance, a sand-flat looks empty. Just sand, water, and sky. Yet beneath the surface lies a vital ecosystem that stores carbon, filters water, and keeps estuaries in balance. Research shows that sediment in tidal flats like these is one of the most important carbon reservoirs on Earth, comparable to habitats such as mangroves, salt marshes, and sea-grasses.

The problem is that sandflats rarely get attention. Few people know much about them or even realise how important they are. The challenge is how to bring this hidden world to people so they can truly experience it.

“No one will protect what they do not care about, and no one will care about what they have never experienced.” - David Attenborough

Shallow mudflat with scattered trails under a blue sky, distant mountains on the horizon, calm and expansive — A sand-flat is teaming with life

The Creatures Beneath the Sand That Keep Our Planet Healthy

Sandflat Heroes is an augmented reality app developed with the New Zealand Marine Discovery Centre in Leigh and the University of Auckland. By scanning a poster or outdoor frame, players unlock a 3D cross section of sand where hidden creatures spring to life with facts and animations. Crabs burrow through the sediment, shellfish filter and clean the water, and bamboo worms push sediment around, bringing oxygen deep into the sand. Each of these creatures is a tiny engineer, working together to keep estuaries healthy and life in balance.

“Our hope is that it proves a lightbulb moment, telling them that, hey, it’s not just sand or mud – that there are these other cool things happening within it.” - Dr Tim Haggitt, who manages Auckland University’s Marine Discovery Centre at Leigh.

AR poster titled Sandflat Heroes shows a 3D sandy habitat with blue lightbulb markers, an Okay button, and tap instructions.

Boosting Environmental Awareness Through Immersive AR Experiences

Sandflat Heroes encourages people to take what they discover in the app back to the beach. Once you know what to look for, you start to notice the tiny signs of life everywhere: the trails left behind by worms, the siphon holes of cockles and macomona, the tracks of whelks, or the delicate patterns made by spionid worms. These creatures quietly provide the services that make estuaries safe, clean, and rich with life, the very systems that support us too.