Agile piloting means staying truly agile

Agile piloting is, by definition, about flexibility and responsiveness. But what does that look like in practice? One of our German pilots, Venus Ai, offers a strong example of how continuous adaptation is not only beneficial, but often essential to the innovation process.

In the small town of Bad Alexandersbad in Landkreis Wunsiedel im Fichtelgebirge, the company developed an innovative concept to support local tourism through a digital hiking solution. The original idea focused on an AR-based tool that would dynamically enhance hiking trails and improve the visitor experience.

Using QR codes placed along the route, hikers were meant to access useful and location-specific information, including points of interest, route options with different levels of difficulty, and temporary trail changes caused by issues such as forestry work or seasonal flooding.

From the start of the pilot, Stephan Venus, founder and CEO of Venus Ai, was closely involved in implementation. During the process, however, the project encountered not one, but two major technical obstacles that required a significant strategic shift.

The first challenge emerged when the initial open-source AR solution proved incompatible with iOS devices. Given the strong market share of iPhones in Germany, this represented a serious limitation. In response, Venus Ai quickly adopted a commercial fallback solution based on the WebAR platform 8th Wall.

A second disruption followed when 8th Wall announced its complete shutdown in the middle of the pilot. This broader market development also affected other platforms such as Adobe Aero and Meta Spark AR. Once again, the company reacted immediately and pragmatically. Instead of halting the project, it developed a MapLibre-based map application that displays sign locations, hiking routes, and nearby points of interest in a stable, platform-independent, and maintainable format.

Importantly, the project’s full data infrastructure remains in place and is ready for future AR integration once browser restrictions on Apple devices allow for it.

This pilot clearly shows that agile piloting can help municipalities discover solutions that go beyond conventional service specifications. It also demonstrates that innovation does not depend on rigidly following an original plan, but on the ability to respond effectively to unexpected challenges and keep moving forward.

The Venus Ai pilot is a strong example of how resilience, pragmatism, and iterative problem-solving can turn obstacles into meaningful progress.

For more piloting stories from Bavaria, our project partners will be happy to share further insights:
Zentrum für Digitale Entwicklung GmbH and EurA AG