Hello Lamp Post’s Belfast Maritime Mile pilot used a simple idea to test a different kind of city interaction: letting people “talk” to landmarks. In Belfast, on the Maritime Mile in the Titanic Quarter, residents and visitors could text objects such as the Big Fish, HMS Caroline and other waterfront sites. The objects responded with information, stories and prompts to explore the area.
The project was designed as both a tourist attraction and a civic engagement tool. Its stated aim was to animate a heritage waterfront, encourage playful exploration, and help tourism organisations experiment with new ways to communicate with visitors. Rather than introducing a new app or device, the system overlaid conversation onto existing urban infrastructure using SMS and signage.
Hello Maritime Mile was delivered in 2019 as a partnership between Belfast City Council’s Tourism and City Innovation teams, Tourism NI, the Titanic Foundation, Ulster University, and the engagement technology company Hello Lamp Post. The pilot initially ran for six weeks in February and March, then was extended to September 2019. It received the award for Best Use of Digital Technology to Improve the Visitor Experience at the 2019 Northern Ireland Tourism Awards.
The project sits within a broader approach used by Hello Lamp Post in several cities worldwide, where fixed urban objects become interfaces for information, storytelling and feedback. In Belfast, the focus was specifically on heritage interpretation and visitor experience along a historically significant stretch of the city’s waterfront.