In San Francisco, they will test an application for virtual graffiti

San Francisco (USA) - San Francisco officials want to use iPhones to fight illegal graffiti. The local city hall has started offering an application that allows users of this mobile phone to create a digital inscription on any wall that will be visible to all other users of this application, Reuters reported today.
    The Graff City application is based on a technology called augmented reality. A person with the application on their phone will be able to virtually "spray" anything onto any surface in sight and then "photograph" the resulting work as if it were actually there. Moreover, the virtual graffiti will also be visible to everyone else who uses Graff City in the same location.
    "The goal is to provide an alternative for young people who feel compelled to sign their names on walls or destroy someone else's property," said Tyra Fennell, who is behind the creation of the application.
    According to Fennell, Graff City is part of a larger program by the San Francisco city hall, which aims to combat the emergence of illegal graffiti. In addition to the possibility of virtual spraying, the city hall has also offered several grants for creating large-scale graffiti in selected public areas. However, according to Reuters, this initiative has significant restrictions, as grant applicants must register and present a selection of their previous graffiti. Additionally, there is a shortage of selected areas for legal spraying.
    In contrast, the Graff City application could be available to anyone who owns an iPhone. Furthermore, it is likely that the application will soon be adapted for other types of so-called smart mobile phones. Fennell emphasizes that contrary to common belief, graffiti artists are usually not poor people, but often youth from private schools, many of whom own the latest phones.
    However, some experts are skeptical about the creation of the application. Bob Van Gelder from a San Francisco company that deals with the removal of illegal graffiti noted that many graffiti artists want to mark their territory in real, not virtual space. "My first impression is that they will use the application to create a sketch that they will then transfer to the wall," he said.