Applications are being developed in the form of an augmented reality system, to bring more life to cemeteries. A modern way to pay homage to loved ones.
Innovation to make death more alive: this could be the credo of Requiem Code, the solution invented by Lilian Delaveau. Through a QR Code system, it allows loved ones to pay tribute to their deceased by reflecting their personalities through augmented reality. A device well received by the first users, which underlines this new way of making memory last. Lilian Delaveau lost her grandfather in March 2021, just before confinement. The funeral is beautiful and representative of his life. However, the cemetery seems sad to Lilian. “All the graves are very similar: a stone, a few flowers, religious symbols… but nothing that truly reflects the personalities of the deceased! We don’t know what they liked to do during their lifetime, for example!”, he explains to aufeminin.
Trained as an engineer, he then thought of a simple solution that would address this important memorial aspect for loved ones and family. He then had the idea of using augmented reality to bring this memory to life.
Celebrate All Saints’ Day virtually
Augmented reality is a device that is beginning to take root in our lives, especially with QR codes, these kinds of bar codes which, once scanned by the user, allow data to be displayed on a smartphone: site internet, phone number, photos, videos, text … Lilian Delaveau uses this relatively simple technology, accessible to anyone with a smartphone and an internet connection, by offering to affix a QR code to the funerary monument. The idea: to rehumanize the cemetery and the grave. “You can put for example your favorite group, tell why the person was what she was”, explains the entrepreneur.
Does “digital death” have a future? According to the entrepreneur, this technology is set to develop. “I really think it’s going to become more and more important as we all have phones and a network connection.”, he argues. Unlike existing QR code solutions that link to a Facebook site or memorial, the Requiem Code solution gives importance to the place where technology is used, ie the cemetery. In its solution, the scanned QR code reveals, via the phone’s camera function, elements when the grave is filmed. “We tried to keep a link to the cemetery, to keep the meditation aspect specific to this place. People hold it, as well as this form of homage in front of the grave”, also explains Lilian Delaveau.
A new way to bring memories of loved ones to life
Who has access to this data? Requiems Codes may or may not be protected by a kind of pin code to make the memories more or less public. Lilian specifies: “My conviction is that by being public, the memory continues to live a little, like what contributes to what makes a cemetery today”, where everyone passing by the grave of an unknown person can read what is written there.
Are these memories accessible from a distance? “No and it’s voluntary, to keep the memory where it is, explains Lilian. We are all the same listening to families, we may also have to think about the possibilities for those who cannot come to the funeral: we could consider sending the QR code on a small piece of granite for example. ” All these data are stored on a secure server located on the French territory. Regarding sustainability, a Requiem Code is like a concession. Every 5 years, the company sends an email to ask families if the solution is still relevant.
For Lilian Delaveau, the cemetery is a place of memory, which he wished to improve with his solution. “The place is important, we wanted to make it even better!” What is for him the most beautiful tribute that one can pay to a disappeared person?“I think it’s using what he left us, whether it’s a piece of advice, a made-up place, an admired character trait… The people who are important in your life give you a breath that you we must embellish and continue to bring life “, he confides.
The desire to continue to bring memories to life is also what motivated the launch in October 2021 of the application. toodays.me. The app claims to transmit memories as a form of emotional heritage. Between the online diary and the social network, you can post photos, videos but also audios or texts.
You can import content from your computer. Data security is strong, as it is subject to European data protection regulations. Originality of this app? The “secret box” functionality: a sort of additional safe, with another access code, which will only be opened after your death. toodays.me performs the transmission procedure upon receipt of the user’s death certificate, verifies it and then informs the beneficiary of the inheritance. The app is releasing a gift box for Christmas to be able to offer subscriptions to the app. What to spend the end of the year connected …
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