Timelooper Virtual Reality Startup Helps London Visitors “Time Travel” to The Medieval Times, The Great Fire and The Blitz with Smartphones and Google Cardboard

London, 22 July 2015:  Today, Timelooper introduces three 360-degree virtual reality “time travel” videos that allow visitors to use their smartphones and a virtual reality headset to leap back in time. London visitors can now experience The Medieval Times near the Tower of London, The Great Fire next to St. Paul’s Cathedral, and The Blitz from Trafalgar Square. The videos are location-based, meaning that visitors must be at the locations to unlock the virtual reality experiences. Once a visitor unlocks content, he or she can share the videos with friends and family members from anywhere.

Every year, more than 500 million people visit thousands of points of interest to try to get a glimpse into the incredible scenes and memorable moments that occurred in these places. Timelooper augments the existing visit experience by creating visually-rich and historically-accurate 360-degree virtual reality videos for travelers. According to Chief Executive Officer. Yigit Yigiter, “Timelooper began as my childhood dream to bring history to life in a more vivid way. Today, emerging digital technologies like virtual reality and 360-degree videos make it possible to capture and communicate history and current events, and to envision our future world, in more immersive and exciting ways.”

A member of both the MassChallenge UK accelerator programme, and the Traveltech Lab in London, a joint initiative between London & Partners and The Trampery, Timelooper’s mission is to transport visitors in London and around the world to the most memorable moments of amazing places. In addition, as the world changes due to political and ecological forces, Timelooper solves the growing need to preserve and digitally transmit the most significant tangible and intangible elements of our global historical and cultural heritage. "Like London itself, which embodies both technology and tradition, Timelooper creatively blends virtual reality and history. Timelooper is really on the cutting edge of an emerging augmented reality travel sector and we see huge potential in other areas such as education. It has the potential to make a big impact, not just in London but globally," said Martin Sharman, MassChallenge UK Director of Operations.

London attraction sites saw a 7.11% increase in visitor numbers in 2014, according to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA). With London’s rich and varied history, along with its booming tourism industry, Timelooper saw an opportunity to create differentiated experiences for London visitors that help make site visits more immersive, educational and entertaining. Charles Armstrong, founder of The Trampery, says, “Part of the thrill for tourists visiting a historic city like London is imagining its famous sites as they were centuries ago. We selected Timelooper as one of the founding members of Traveltech Lab because their immersive technology enables tourists to turn back the clock and experience historic destinations at key moments in their history. It’s been a pleasure working with Yigit and his team. Today is an exciting day as they launch their first three locations in London. All of us at The Trampery look forward to seeing Timelooper’s next steps.”

Julie Chappell, Chief Digital Officer at London & Partners, adds, "Virtual reality is emerging as a compelling digital medium with which to showcase London's world-class attractions. We look forward to Timelooper opening up many more of the city's leading attractions to an entirely new, tech-savvy audience."