University of Northampton 'virtual sculptures' a UK first

A "virtual sculpture trail" at a university's £330m campus is thought to be the first of its kind in the UK.

Visitors to the University of Northampton can use a mobile phone to view 3D sculptures created by students.

The six augmented reality pieces of art around the Waterside campus are visible through an app made by a media agency.

Iain Douglas, from the university, said: "This was a valuable opportunity to bring a real-life collaborative project to the students."

Augmented reality overlays a computer-generated image on the real world.

Its popularity has risen due to games such as Pokemon Go!.

Mr Douglas said: "I'm pretty sure there's no other university in the UK that has geo-located their students' 3D work around the campus. It's a real first for everyone."

The app was developed by Northampton-based agency AR Media, which collaborated with the Games Art students.

Agency director Rob Fairhurst said: "We gave the students free rein to design their pieces, only limiting them by the level of complexity their models could be, and they delivered the goods.

"Now anyone can use the app to find sculptures on campus and experience the students' own work in full 3D, move around it and zoom right in.

"It's a modern-day art installation and, to our knowledge, the first augmented reality art trail on a UK campus."