The “Making-Of” When we think of cutting-edge artificial intelligence, we usually don’t think of 16th-century history. For a series of special exhibition openings in May 2026, we set out to change that. We launched an ambitious, regional tech-heritage project to create three distinct conversational AI Avatars for three different museums in Austria’s beautiful Pinzgau region. … Read more
The Fireside Chat If you’ve never pitched a business idea to an investor while riding a chairlift in the Austrian Alps, you’re missing out on one of the most exhilarating tech events in Europe. I recently had the pleasure of taking the stage at Skinnovation – the premier startup conference on skis – for a … Read more
The Podcast It was a pleasure to sit down with my friend Matthias Röder for the latest Sonophilia Creativity and Tech Talk. We covered a lot of ground – from my early days in Hawaii building the first online travel reservation engines to where we are heading with “embodied” AI. If you missed the session, … Read more
3 Days of Travel Tech Last week, I attended the Tourism Innovation Summit (TIS) in Seville, gaining some valuable insights into Spain’s tourism technology advancements. The three-day conference featured interesting panel discussions and presentations from both multi-national industry giants as well as some innovative startups. The event gathered professionals, companies, and experts to explore the … Read more
(The press release and original article in German can be found here) Workshop Summary: Expanding Experiences with Augmented Reality in the Inner Salzkammergut On August 6, 2025, a workshop was held as part of the INTERREG project “Livability in the Alpine Region” to explore the potential of modern technologies for tourism. The event, titled “Expanding … Read more
Combining nature experiences, educational opportunities, and digital innovation With the new “Planet Trail” on the Gerlitzen Alpe, the Villach – Faaker Lake – Ossiacher Lake region is setting new standards in combining nature experiences, educational opportunities, and digital innovation. The approximately 2.5-kilometer-long themed trail leads the existing “Kanzelhöhe” circular trail to the solar observatory and … Read more
Information for guests and travellers The Styrian holiday region of Schladming-Dachstein is continuing its digital guest information initiative. In addition to daily updated information on the website, social media channels, and a dedicated app, numerous displays have been in use at several locations since last year. Now the tourist board has taken another pioneering step: … Read more
Imagine Stepping Into History, From Anywhere Imagine walking through the halls of a museum, examining ancient artifacts or priceless artworks up close, feeling the atmosphere of the space… all from the comfort of your own home. For years, creating truly convincing, interactive digital replicas of real-world places felt like science fiction. Capturing the intricate details, … Read more
Transforming Customer Interaction Traditional customer service often struggles to keep up with the demand for personalized and engaging experiences. How can we make complex information easily accessible and exciting? How can we provide support that feels both personal and cutting-edge? Introducing the interactive AI Avatar Solution “Sophia,” a personalized AI-powered avatar customized by Mixed Reality … Read more
UPDATE 11. June, 2025 Using the Meta Ray-Bans for mountainbiking is an interesting experience. I can’t wait for the Meta Oakleys 😉 UPDATE 28. April, 2025 Meta AI is now available in Austria, Germany and other European countries. However, the “Ask Meta AI about what you see” capability is still only available in English in … Read more
