Virtual Tour Through the Gotthard Tunnel
On December 1, 2016, Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) opened the Gotthard Base Tunnel. With a length of 57 km, two tubes, and numerous maintenance and emergency tunnels, the tunnel is truly massive. Since the structure lies up to 2.5 km underground, it is very difficult to grasp just how immense it is. For the grand opening ceremony of this prestigious Swiss project, we were commissioned to develop a smartphone app—Virtual Gottardo.
Using VR goggles, the app takes users on a virtual journey around and through the tunnel. The additional game is a simple “clicker.” This means the player clicks or taps on their smartphone to dig their way through the rock, centimeter by centimeter.
Client
Our services
Working with Bitforge exceeded my expectations. I particularly appreciated their independent and reliable approach, their highly innovative implementation, and their ambition to create outstanding, top-quality apps.
Christoph Zogg
Director Digital Business at SBB
With the help of hot-air balloons and airships, visitors can explore the landscape, access information about the tunnel, and experience the tunnel’s actual size as they travel through the mountain. The entire journey takes place within a 1:1 3D model of the surrounding landscape and the tunnel. The model was created using public surveying data from Switzerland combined with NASA satellite images.
Users can work their way through the tunnel themselves using a pickaxe and explosives, reliving the key moments of the tunnel’s construction.
Thanks to its many interactive elements, such as the game and VR experiences, Virtual Gottardo was a crowd favorite at the opening ceremony. SBB presented Virtual Gottardo at a public booth. In addition to the app experience on tablets, visitors had the opportunity to experience the journey through and over the Gotthard Base Tunnel in three dimensions using Card Box VR.
Last but not least, we are proud that Virtual Gottardo was also featured in the media (watson, Netzwoche).
