Skinny Ape

A virtual band put on a virtual show last weekend—and it was invisible to the naked eye. Using the power of augmented reality, Gorillaz recently premiered a new song for their fans in New York City and London. With help from Google’s ARCore Geospatial API, the iconic animated band harnessed the technology to host unique shows in Times Square and Piccadilly Circus, respectively. As part of the innovative concert experience, which combined real-world and computer-generated imagery, fans saw gigantic avatars of Gorillaz interacting with monuments while they performed the new track, “Skinny Ape.” Since the show had to be experienced with a mobile device via a bespoke app, fans were encouraged to move around different vantage points to get the most out of it. The AR-powered pe...