Since early 2024, the team have been working on a one of a kind tech solution to support the capture of stories from across communities in a way that was inclusive, accessible and meaningful, without relying solely on traditional methods or expecting people to adapt to complex technology.
We needed to find a way to meet people where they are, and how to meaningfully connect new stories with existing archives in a way that felt personal, respectful and engaging for the public.
Developed through the Augment the City competitive fund, StoryDreamer blends film, sound, archive material and interactive digital elements to capture the diverse voices of Belfast. The project was created by Hamilton Robson, Nerve Centre and 1 Up Studios, funded through the Belfast Region City Deal and Belfast City Council.
Hamilton Robson collaborated with Nerve Centre and 1Up Studios on community engagement and design. Together, they delivered a public-facing pop-up experience powered by Story Engine. Across Phases 1 and 2, the team had designed and built a platform to help capture, curate and connect stories from across communities. Story Dreamer, an AI-powered interviewer, was born. Story Engine sits behind this experience, powering content capture, analysis, curation and delivery in real time.
The team had the opportunity to test their innovation out, through the running of a public facing pop up in 2 Royal Avenue in December 2025. Visitors were invited to tell their story and immediately see how it connected to others through Story Space, alongside archive material from PRONI and the Digital Film Archive. For many, this was a powerful moment, seeing their own experiences reflected as part of Belfast’s wider narrative.
Story Dreamer acted as an AI interviewer, inviting visitors to speak freely and at their own pace. Built with accessibility at the core, it supported multiple languages, various platforms like phone calls and a pressure-free conversational style designed to complement rather than replace human storytelling.
Behind the scenes, Story Engine processed audio, video and image content through AI pipelines, analysing and storing stories using vector search technology. This enabled immediate connections between newly captured stories and archive material from PRONI and the Digital Film Archive, all presented visually through Story Space.
The installation was deployed in under a week, ran for ten days with no downtime and demonstrated reliable, interactive technology delivery in a real-world public setting.
The response from the public exceeded expectations. People who had perhaps entered as a sceptic described the experience as ‘therapeutic, safe and emotionally engaging’. Some recalled stories they had not planned to tell, while others returned wanting to share more. One visitor even recognised her grandfather in the archive content after telling her own story. This moment captured the power of connecting personal memory with shared history.
The experience validated Story Engine’s readiness as a scalable platform for community engagement, cultural institutions and immersive storytelling. With 150+ visitors over the week the team had meaningful engagements from the public that have validated and given confidence to the need for a service like this for cultural attractions and community hubs.
Feedback included 95% saying they felt comfortable talking to an AI interviewer. 95% said they felt comfortable and safe to share personal thoughts and memories and 100% said the archive within StorySpace improved the experience and made it more interesting and personal.
