Touchdown LA offers immersive smart-glasses walking tours that layer archival film and TV footage onto real New York City streets in augmented reality. Guided walking tours of Midtown Manhattan let visitors experience iconic movie moments at their actual filming locations, with live multilingual subtitles and no special gear required—the company provides the smart glasses. The flagship tour covers a half-mile loop through Grand Central Terminal and Times Square, featuring clips from films like North by Northwest and Avengers.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Traditional walking tours rely on static narration and printed materials, making it difficult for visitors to visualize the cinematic history of the locations they are viewing. Standard tours often fail to convey the spatial context of famous film scenes, leaving travelers with a disconnected experience between the physical environment and the media they know from movies and television.
Solution
Touchdown LA provides guided smart-glasses walking tours that overlay archival footage and film clips directly onto the streets where they were originally shot, creating an augmented reality experience of New York City's cinematic history. The company supplies XREAL, Rokid, Viture, or TCL smart glasses that connect to participants' smartphones via USB-C, allowing movie scenes to appear in real-time over the actual physical locations. A knowledgeable local guide leads small groups through a flat, half-mile Midtown Manhattan loop, connecting stories from cinema, television, music, and news across a century of entertainment history. The experience includes live AI-powered multilingual subtitles displayed in the glasses, making the tour accessible to international visitors regardless of their native language.
Target Audience
Primary customers are tourists and visitors to New York City interested in film and television history, as well as locals seeking a unique perspective on familiar locations. The tour appeals to movie enthusiasts, pop culture fans, and travelers looking for an interactive alternative to traditional sightseeing experiences.
Features
- AR smart glasses with archival film and TV footage layered onto real-world filming locations in real time
- Live AI-generated multilingual subtitles displayed directly in the glasses for international accessibility
- Guided half-mile walking loop through Midtown Manhattan covering five iconic film set stops including Grand Central Terminal and Times Square
- Smart glasses provided with the tour, or participants can bring their own compatible devices (XREAL, Rokid, Viture, TCL)
- Smartphone-based operation requiring only a USB-C connection (iPhone 12+/Android 12+ with DisplayPort Alt Mode)
- Small group sizes capped at 10 people with daily departures at 10:00 and 14:00