Since the 1800’s, the Dutch royal family has had their own private, lavish waiting rooms at the main railway stations in Holland.

These ornate rooms – which have never before been accessible by the public – can now be visited by everyone thanks to a new app using advanced panoramanic technology.

XS2 has launched a new app which allows user to explore the waiting rooms of the Dutch Royal family in the train stations in Amsterdam and The Hague. The app was commissioned by NS, a major Dutch railway operator. NS wanted to reveal the beauty of the Royal Waiting Rooms to the public, while preserving the delicate decor.

While panoramic viewing technology has been used before, this app gives a new level of user control to the experience.

• By physically moving the device the user is able to navigate through the rooms.
• Touching hotspots opens information about specific items on-screen.
• The high definition imagery allows the user to zoom in and view the fine detail of the awnings that decorate the rooms, just as they would in a museum.

Scott Seaborn, newly appointed Executive Creative Director as XS2, said, “Our proprietary mobile technology created an immersive experience. In cooperation with creative content company YUNE, we transformed the Royal Waiting Rooms into a 360º virtual experience that gives realistic control to the audience. We put the craft of the subject into the work”

The technology could, in many ways, be the future of museums and galleries, particularly those whose contents are fragile and put at risk by contact with the public.

NS Koninklijke Wachtkamers, available for both iOS and Android, was also awarded a silver Mobile Lion at the Cannes Lions Festival 2012.

Here is a video, in English, that gives a fuller explanation and demonstration of the Royal Waiting room app.
[note: try playing it in full screen mode, the images look really nice!]