M.L. Hariras Tongyai on Building an Augmented Playground in Bangkok

Emerging and evolving technology means that fusing digital and reality is now a possibility. M.L. Hariras Tongyai isn’t just dreaming of these immersive worlds – he’s building one in Bangkok, brick by virtual brick.

For M.L. Hariras “Ham” Tongyai, it’s a thrill to create extraordinary experiences people can enjoy that they otherwise might not normally be able to. Through his longtime love of tinkering with new, emerging, and immersive technology, he is currently pursuing his lifelong dream – to turn Bangkok into a digital playground with Extended Reality (XR) technology.

An electrical engineer and roboticist, Ham has long had a keen interest in XR technology since putting on an HTC Vive virtual reality headset back in 2013. The phrase “extended reality” is a catch-all term that refers to a group of technologies which combine the real and virtual worlds in ways previously seen only in science fiction films. And it’s something that has fueled his imagination for years.

XR encompasses augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) technologies. These immersive experiences are rapidly advancing, and their applications are expanding across a range of industries, including entertainment, healthcare, education, marketing, and even construction.

Ham’s plan to gamify Bangkok utilises AR technology, in which computer-generated information and objects appear in the real-world using software and gadgets. He hopes the game will reach its full potential when technology advances further, and it can implement mixed reality – in which virtual objects appear in the real world through headsets. It’s something that Ham is confident in due to how untapped the market for this is within Thailand, and how this technology is continuously evolving.

“I want people to enjoy this whole new world,” he explains. “I’ve always built stuff because it’s cool. The coolest Iron Man suits, the coolest AI tech and video games, but eventually I realised it’s not about the tech, it’s about the people. The experience that I want people to feel, when they jump into whatever world I build with.”

If that sounds familiar, it’s because the game takes inspiration from the hit 2016 mobile game, Pokemon Go, created by American software development company Niantic. It’s a game Ham loved to play, and he’s using the company’s development kit to build his own game. Pokemon Go, incidentally, reached a billion global downloads by early 2019, and grossed more than US$6 billion in revenue by 2020, popularising the use of location-based gaming and AR technology (in turn, promoting physical activity and letting gamers learn about landmarks they otherwise might not have known about).

Ham’s current project isn’t the 30-year-old’s first brush with tech. In high school he was infamous for building his aforementioned Iron Man suits, complete with functional tech systems and automated helmet and faceplate. Flying and firing laser beams, however, remained elusive.

He would go on to study Electronics and Electrical Engineering for his Bachelor’s degree at Queen Mary University of London, and for his Master’s degree he would study AI and robotics at King’s College London. After his studies, he returned to Bangkok where he focused on health and fitness technology through his startup company Motiwatt, where he worked to create an AI chatbot that suggested the best exercises for users, depending on their mood and lifestyle.

He founded another company, BaanAR, which sought to revitalise real estate projects in rural Nakhon Nayok with the use of AR technology, even collaborating with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to help give talks at schools. It was here that he began developing his first AR experiences, wherein visitors could use their phones to scan objects in key locations and see mythical creatures come to life, and learn about history in a fun and engaging way.

“This is the point where I felt so sure in my heart that this is what I wanted to do,” he shares. “When kids put on headsets, they go into this world, they experience things – these worlds of wonders. After that, they would take off their headsets and turn to their parents with giant smiles on their faces telling them how cool it all was.”

So how does his game, Augmented BKK, work? Currently, it requires people to use their phones like a camera, and through that they can see game characters come alive in the real world. A robotic bunny companion can be seen walking and interacting with real and virtual world objects such as benches and balls. Players can walk through locations to find a variety of activities – activities that Ham must single-handedly map and implement – which include opening mystery chests, solving puzzles, learning new information, and shooting monsters.

The ultimate aim is to make this game accessible to all, something that Ham admits can prove challenging, as it involves appealing to a very wide demographic. “In an ideal world, I want to say this game is for everyone, right? But to be realistic, you need to start with the early adopters. They can mostly be people who are physically active. Research shows that people aged 15 to 30 were more receptive to XR technology.”

When asked about the challenges in developing the game, a knowing grin spreads across Ham’s face as he answers. “The heat! And this is why it’s very important to strike a balance between features where you can play anywhere, and features where you can play on specific locations.”

Ham is currently mapping key landmarks and creating activities in one location – Benjakitti Park – for two days a week. And by the time you read this he’ll have had some people do test runs. “The reason I picked Benjakitti Park is because it’s full of unique landmarks and spots. I found through research that when people went out to play Pokemon Go they would notice things that they never noticed before, including landmarks. It lets them slow down and appreciate their surroundings. It also draws people’s attention to the real world, which is ironic in a sense since they’re on their phones at the time.”

This sense of wonder and appreciation for one’s surroundings is what keeps Ham motivated. “To give hope or inspire kids to be excited about their life in the future feels very rewarding to me, and gives me a sense of fulfilment I wouldn’t find anywhere else. That’s my core value. That’s what drives me to build these experiences for people to enjoy. I don’t build stuff just because it’s a cool piece of tech. If I can’t share it with people, there’s no point.”

The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.

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