SA company seeks Kickstarter funding for Google Glass app

Tourism Radio, a Cape Town-based operation that produces location-aware audio travel guides wants to finance its next big step, Google Glass travel guides and is seeking funding through Kickstarter.

Serial entrepreneur Mark Allewell, who founded the company in 2005, refers to it as, "the next big thing in travel.

Google Glass
Google Glass

The next step in travel

"We believe that Glass will set the precedent for augmented reality platforms of the near future. With eight years of travel technology experience behind it, the company has proven itself able to adapt to new technologies and Glass is the next evolutionary step from the mobile smart phone."

Its audio guide stable comes in various forms, including an OEM device distributed via rental cars, iOS and Android apps and a soon-to-be-launched application for the Renault R-Link, in-car multimedia system.

The company produces guides to locations across the world and offers the travel applications as White Label solutions for destination marketing organisations and corporate entities, including Land Rover, Diners Club and South African Tourism, amongst others.

Digital travel guide

Allewell says they are hoping to raise in excess of £35,000 (R530,000) to fund the project, with an expected delivery in April 2014. Backers who pledge funds towards its goal will be rewarded with anything from one free travel guide, to the chance to include eight of their own points of interest in a particular city guide and have it translated into any language.

"We've consistently been able to deliver on a number of large agreements we've had in the past few years, including with travel guide publisher, Frommer's Unlimited and French automaker, Renault. Should we be able to raise the funding, I have no doubt Tourism Radio's Google Glass travel guides will set the bar for all our predecessors."

For more information, go to Kickstarter

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