COMMENT Designers and developers need to think about off-the-desktop technologies as a new form of the web/internet. Information architects who understand interactive media/transmedia, cross-display/device, cross-platform, and interaction design within a broader context are sorely needed in this space.
The presentation below, by Chris Thorne, Lead Information Architect and User Experience Consultant working for the BBC, provides a good overview about this topic:
Over the past months I've been gathering video and photos of my encounters and interactions with digital signage as a consumer/customer/user during my every-day activities such as shopping, traveling, vacationing, and so forth, which will be included in a post or series of posts in the near future.
I have content related to interaction with various QR tags, interactive kiosks, interactive displays and TV on a cruise ship, an interactive touch screen at J.C. Penny, and more. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that my interests include user experience of DOOH, interactive displays in public spaces, and so forth.
Note: Despite all of the technological innovations in this converging field, issues related to context, usability, and accessibility are not consistently addressed from a broader systems point of view.
I came across this video display at a Porche Design shop in St. Martin. The video was well-done, but the display was difficult to see from a distance. The saleswoman wasn't sure who produced the content.
I thought that it would be more interesting if the content was interactive- something for do while my husband shopped!
I always like to try out technology in public spaces when I travel. Imagine my excitement when I was presented with my first opportunity to try out my tag app on my Incredible while I was waiting for my baggage to arrive after my flight from Charlotte to Orlando...
On first glance, the location of this display near the rest rooms and baggage claim area makes sense. Travelers can access information about things to do in North Port from their Smartphones by scanning the QR tag with a tag reader app while they wait for their baggage.
To my dismay, my interaction with this display and my tag reader app was not enjoyable.
Because the tag was located at the bottom of the display, I had to set aside my carry-on bags, purse,etc., and kneel front of it to center my smartphone precisely at the tag. The display was on the wall between the restrooms, a convenient gathering point for people. Little kids darted around me, and parents used this spot to re-organize their family's "stuff". As I tried to scan the tag, a dad had to ask his son to move back, "so the lady could take a picture".
I was blocking the path of families and groups of travelers with all of their stuff. I gave up trying after a while, much to the relief of my husband, who watched all of this as he waited for our baggage.
Nicolas Loeillot, of LM3LABS, has been ahead of the natural user interaction/ interface game for many years as his company has expanded. He's done quite a bit of deep thinking about the work of his company, and has used this wisdom to create a nice concept map that describes how LM3LABS' solutions fit into the world of gesture-based control and interaction:
In my opinion, this chart would make a great template for mapping out other natural interaction applications and products!
Here is the description of the concepts outlined in the chart:
"If all of them belong to the “gesture control” world, the best segmentation is made from 4 categories:
Finger tracking: precise finger tracking, it can be single touch or multi-touch (this latest not always being a plus). Finger tracking also encompasses hand tracking which comes, for LM3LABS products, as a gestures.
Body tracking: using one’s body as a pointing device. Body tracking can be associated to “passive” interactivity (users are engaged without their decision to be) or “active” interactivity like 3D Feel where “players” use their body to interact with content.
Face tracking: using user face as a pointing device. It can be mono user or multiple users. Face tracking is a “passive” interactivity tool for engaging user in an interactive relationship with digital content.
Image Tracking: Augmented Reality (AR) lets users use images (flyers, real products, t-shirts, faces,…) to interact with digital content. AR can be markerless or marker-based. Markerless technology has advantages but marker-based AR is easier for users to understand. (Please note here that Markerless AR is made in close collaboration with AR leader Total Immersion)." -LM3LABS
If you are interested in this subject and want to view some good examples of off-the-desktop interfaces and interactions, take a look at the LM3LABS blog, as well as Nicolas Loeillot's Vimeo channel. Also take a look at the sample of posts I've written about LM3LABS over the last few years - the links are at the end of this post.
I first discovered LM3LABS when I was taking a VR class and researching interactive, immersive large displays in 2005 or 2006. Back then, there wasn't much information about this sort of technology. A lot has changed since then!
I've learned quite a bit from watching LM3LABS (and others) grow, given my passion for postWIMP interactive technology and my commitment to blogging about this subject. Nicolas has really worked hard in this arena. As early as 2005, LM3LABS was working with Scala to provide "smart" interactive displays, and his company's applications have been supported by computer vision technologies for many years, allowing for gesture-based, or "touch-less" interaction, as demonstrated by the Catchyoo Interactive Table. This application caught my eye back in early 2007, when I was working on projects for large interactive displays for my HCI and Ubicomp classes, and was thinking about creating a table-top application.
My hunch is that LM3LABS has set the foundation for further growth in the future, given the lessons they've learned by taking risks with postWIMP technologies over the past few years!
"Founded in 2003 by a team of passionate researchers, engineers, designers, and marketers from various international backgrounds, focused on fast transformation of innovation into unique products, LM3LABS is a recognized pioneer in computer vision-based interactivity solutions. Keeping a strong customer focus, LM3LABS' team of unique people pioneers new directions, explores new concepts, new technologies and new interactions. Engaging, playful and magic, LM3LABS' products and solutions are always scalable and reliable"
info@lm3labs.com
Note to readers:
Over the past couple of years there has been an explosion of postWIMP technologies and applications, and with this pace, it has been difficult for me to keep abreast of it all. There is quite a bit I miss, given my full time job and daily life!
I welcome information about postWIMP interactive technologies and applications from my readers. Due to time constraints, not interest, I am not always able to post about a topic as soon as I'd like. That is OK, as my intention is not to be the first blogger to spread the latest tech news. I like to dig in deep when I can and make connections between innovative, interesting technologies and the people and ideas behind them.
Bill Gerba blogs about DOOH, which stands for "Digital-Out-of-Home", focusing on displays and kiosks in public spaces that offer dynamic and/or interactive content, usually for the purpose of advertising and marketing. If this is an area that interests you, take a look at Bill Gerba's most recent post, "Does TV Content Work on DOOH? Maybe, Maybe Not" - WireSpring: Digital Signage Insider (9/24/10)
Gerba refers to a "Marketing Funnel" graphic to illustrate some of his points. Six of the seven concepts represented in the graphic, shared below, might be useful to think about for people working in the field of public displays for purposes other than advertising or marketing:
Most of us have noticed that there are many more large-screen displays around. Some displays intrusively attempt to grab your attention through loud and garish informercial-like content. Some are designed to be interactive and pleasant, but go un-noticed by passers-by at all!
I love the concept of interactive, networked public displays! The PD-NET project has a fairly new website and a Facebook page. If this interests you, take the time to learn about the PD-NET project, a collaborative effort between researchers from several different universities in Europe. I'd like to see this take hold in the US.
To create enabling technologies for large-scale pervasive display networks through the design, development, and evaluation of a robust, scalable, distributed and open platform for interconnecting displays and their sensors.
To establish Europe as the international centre for work on pervasive display networks.
To address key scientific challenges that may inhibit the widespread adoption of pervasive display network technology: Tensions between privacy and personalization, situated displays, business and legislative requirements, User Interaction.
Here is a list of participating universities and researchers, taken from the PD-NET website:
J. Müller, F. Alt, D. Michelis, and A. Schmidt, "Requirements and Design Space for Interactive Public Displays," in Proceedings of the 18th annual ACM international conference on Multimedia (Multimedia 2010), to appear, 2010.
COMMENT
If you are familiar with this blog, you know that I am passionate about interactive displays, especially in public spaces. I've devoted numerous posts to this topic on this blog, and also on The World Is My Interactive Interface, a blog I started a few years ago when I was working on projects for large interactive displays.
I am interested in how interactive displays, of any size, can be accessible and universally designed, especially those that can inter-operate with mobile devices, including devices that support communication for people with special needs.
Not long ago I had the opportunity to chat with Stuart McLean, the founder of Osmosis, a company that delivers customized multi-touch systems of hardware and software that support human-centered natural user interaction. Stuart has many years of experience working in more traditional IT/business roles, and knows from this experience that there is better way to support human computer interaction, including interaction between people.
Like many of us in the "NUI" community, Stuart was impressed by the video of Jeff Han's 2006 TED Talk, which demonstrated a variety of awesome multi-touch, multi-user applications on a high-resolution drafting table. Stuart saw the importance of natural user interfaces and interaction and became involved with the NUI Group, a "global research community focused on the open discovery of natural user interfaces".
Unlike traditional tech companies, Osmosis is a collaboration between a global network of engineers, designers, and developers who share the "NUI" vision. This collaboration enables the company to provide solutions for clients across a range of countries, cultures, and domains.
Below is a photo-gallery of some of the applications and systems developed by Osmosis:
Multi-touch by Osmosis
GALLERY
As you can see from the gallery photos, Osmosis provides a range of possibilities for their clients and potential clients. All of the displays are high-definition. Some are projection-systems, and others are displays with multi-touch sensing technology. Since the construction is modular, a variety of form factors are available. High-quality surround and domed sound systems are available. Applications include information kiosks, point of sale/digital signage, hospitality, presentation and training, education, and audio-visual performance and production. Osmosis also provides applications that support interaction with tangible objects.
Below are two videos that give a taste of what Osmosis is all about:
I can see where some of these applications would be great in K-12 educational settings. Just look at the joy on the faces of the kids in the Multi-Touch Everywhere video!
(Short video clips of the Osmosis applications in action can be found in the showcase page of the company's website.)
I was at the Southpark Mall in Charlotte yesterday and noticed that screens of all sizes were everywhere I went. I happened to have my little HD video camera with me and thought I'd share what came across my path.
Most of what I saw wasn't too innovative or interactive. Many of the smaller video displays were located on the market karts in the main traffic areas of the mall. Scattered about the mall are cozy living-room like areas, with comfy couches, WiFi access, and in on spot, a few large-screen HD televisions, perfect for watching sports or the news while other members of your social/family network do some serious shopping. I especially liked the infomercial about North Carolina's beaches around Wilmington.
I wasn't too excited about the information display about the mall, which provides what looks like a version of the Southpark Mall website, shown at :44 on the first video clip. Located about 20 feet from a static mall directory, not a single soul looked at the screen or used the keyboard and mouse to find out more about what the stores in the mall had to offer. The static directory, on the other hand, had groups of people looking at it all of the time as I observed. (I added screen-shots and pictures of the keyboard-and-mouse display near the end of this post.)
At the end of the first video clip, you'll see a new interactive touch-screen Coke vending machine, but the one featured at the end of the first video is out of order.
Not to worry. I stopped to rest in another area of the mall, and in right in my line of sight was another Coke machine, just as a young man was trying to figure out how to get a Coke out of the machine. It took him 93 seconds. That might not seem like too long, but if you watch the second video, you'll see that it was almost painful to watch.
As the young man finished purchasing his soda, a family with two young children were nearby and figured out that the display wasn't just for ads. The second video clip has a few shots of the younger child playing with the touch screen, and later on, his dad. The little guy probably would have played with the touchable spinning Coke bottle for a long time! The dad commented, "They should have something like this for the home!", and mentioned that his kids liked the SMARTboards at school.
In my opinion, the interactive Coke Machine didn't know what it wanted to be. An eye-catching, attention grabbing infomercial? A useful interactive information display? A fun toy to touch and play? A system to make it difficult to quickly reach your goal of getting your thirst quenched, better to get the ads into your brain?
Marketers, designers, and developers, listen to this:
A lot of people still do not know about larger interactive touch screens. Even if they have an iPhone!
I told the parents about touch-enabled all-in-one PC's, touch-screen netbook/laptops, and the rumor that Apple might come out with a touch-screen tablet. They'd never heard of such things. This mall is very upscale, and the families that come to shop there have money. They still can buy shoes at Nordstrom and drink specialty coffees, and of course, crowd around in the Apple Store.
The Videos
Note: The participants in the following two videos gave permission for me to video. The videos were not staged.
A Young Guy and an Interactive Coke Machine
A Kid and an Interactive Coke Machine
RELATED
Below is a picture of the web-connected directory at the Southpark Mall from about a year ago. No-one used it then, and at the time, the display was not working. If you look closely, you'll see the keyboard and mouse set up. Although this display contains a lot of information about the mall, via the web, it does not meet the needs of most shoppers, who travel in pairs, groups, families, and extended families during the holiday season.
Below are two screen shots of the SouthPark website, which can be accessed by using the keyboard and mouse on the information display, as I previously mentioned.
In my opinion, there is enough screen space on the touch-screen Coke machine to provide interactive information about the mall. Ripping content from the mall's website won't do, since it is text-based, boring, and oh-so WIMP-y!
Better yet, the mall should transform the large static directories into something useful, keeping in mind that most of the time it will need to support two or more people deciding where to go and what to do while they are at the mall. Beam a mini-map of the mall to the shoppers to use on their iPhones/Smart phones, and give them a shopping advisor app while you are at it.
Psssst....
There are too many talking head screens in the mall. Make them interactive, add some value, and see what might happen, especially if you want to target reluctant shoppers like myself.
For fun: I Want the Giant iPhone! (Short Glimpse of the Apple Store)
"Shoppers will come upon the units in high traffic locations and can use the large format touch screen displays to interact with and buy Coca-Cola products. People will also be learning about specials and promotions available at the mall and will be able to purchase the beverages using Simon Giftcards.
"The flat screen is set in the vending machine doors and is divided into three sections. The machines feature functionality similar to an iPhone. For example, the mid section of the screen is where people can buy drinks. Clicking on a product lets the shopper rotate the bottle to see the label. The top and bottom sections of the screen are used for running commercials for Coke and other Coca-Cola brands and for Simon Mall promos...This is just preliminary to see how the functionality goes," Coca-Cola spokesperson Ray Crockett said. Next-gen models of the machines will offer mobile phone downloads in the form of music files, ringtones and wallpaper, along with cashless payment and more, Coca-Cola said...The machines were first Introduced at the Summer Olympics last year in Beijing and one the Simon dTour...The new machines incorporate sight, sound and motion video to take the vending experience from transaction to true interaction,” Anthony Phillips, global brand manager at Coca-Cola said in a release. “We wanted the machines to be eye-catching in a way that would turn heads and command attention.” The new venders were developed by The Coca-Cola Co. in partnership with Samsung and interactive marketing agency Sapient".
Digital Signage Screen Placement: Modeling Consumer Behavior http://bit.ly/4oXPWM
Digital Signage Screen Placement: Angle, Height and Text Size http://bit.ly/7hG6NZ
Making great digital signage content: A quick reference guide http://bit.ly/74rNL5
"Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is a dynamic, fragmented, and rapidly evolving space. It's one of the fastest growing media channels, with year-over-year growth pegged in the double digits through at least 2011....as with many emerging media channels, DOOH is a bit of a gray area in terms of what type of agency should own strategy, planning, and buying. A traditional agency because TV spots can berepurposed? The OOH shop because it's just a digital version of a billboard? The interactive shopbecause it's digital, often interactive, and highly measurable? Or will a new class of DOOH specialtyshops emerge to deliver services explicitly for the channel? This lack of clarity creates uncertainty and hesitation in advertisers." -Jeremy Lockhorn, ClickZ 7/13/09 Digital Out-of-Home Landscape Brief (pdf)
This is an industry that is beginning to take off, just as internet-based advertising and web-design/user experience did during the 1990's. The number of players, and potential players, is growing.
I've been fascinated by urban screens for a while, and this is a passion that is shared by a growing number of people who come to the "screenspace" from a wide range of disciplines. I received an email this morning about a call for interactive media and video art for the 2010 Urban Screens conference and exhibition that will be held in Toronto between September 24th-30th 2010. This is a great reason to plan ahead for a trip to that fantastic city!
Below is a description of the urban screens concept, the details for potential conference and exhibition partipation, and a section of links and resources related to this topic. The theme of the conference is "I am here; what can we do?"
"Public screens – or rather large screens situated in public space – are proliferating in cities all over the world. How should we understand the emergence of the electronic screen from the domestic interior onto the streetscape of contemporary cities? What are the implications of the merging of screens with architecture, which turns the surface into a communication resource? How will the overlap between streetscape and datascape shape public space in the future? – Scott McQuire, “Mobility, cosmopolitanism and public space in the media city” (2009). "Urban screens are digital displays and visual interfaces situated in urban public spaces. They include LED screens and signs, plasma screens, projections, information terminals as well as intelligent architectural surfaces and media facades. They support the idea of using public space as a platform for creation and cultural exchange, strengthening the local economy and encouraging public interaction and discussion." - Urban Screens Association
Call for Interactive Media And Video Art
The exhibition “I am here; what can we do?” is part of Urban Screens Toronto 2010, an international urban screens conference and exhibition taking place between September 24th-30th 2010; produced in collaboration with the International Urban Screens Association (IUSA).
Urban Screens Toronto 2010 will promote a multifaceted approach to exploring the growing appearance of moving images in urban space and the global transformation of public culture in the context of networked forms of urban screens. It will build on the successful events held in Amsterdam, Manchester, and Melbourne and will be the first international Urban Screens conference held in North America.
Through an integrated program of keynote lectures, panel sessions, workshops, curated screenings and multimedia projects, it will bring together leading Canadian and international artists and curators, architects and urban planners, designers, ad agencies and brand managers, screen operators and content providers, academics, activists, policymakers, technology manufacturers, software developers and more.
I am here; what can we do? Public Call For:
New or existing experimental, interactive artwork suitable for urban screens. Short-format video works relevant for presentation on urban screens. Interactive design & advertising works created for urban screens including past commercial interactive work from advertising agencies and designers. Student work interactive and video work by students from any institution worldwide.
Themes include, but are not limited to: The meeting point of the real and the virtual; work that incorporates media technology and contemporary building/architectural technology; user-generated content; multi-site, networked projects; work that addresses public spaces and civic engagement.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Submission deadline: MARCH 1 2010 Submission format: Please submit PDF files only, no larger than 3 MB.
Proposals should include: 1) Brief 50-word summary of your artwork
2) Full proposal or description of the project (maximum 2 pages)
3) Maximum 10 images and URL where work can be found online if applicable
4) Documentation of this work if it has previously be exhibited, or of another exhibited work by the artist.
3) Detailed list of technical requirements
4) Curriculum Vitae (maximum 3 pages) Fees: There is no entry fee. Reasonable presentation fees will be paid, for new and existing interactive work and videos. Fees will not be paid for design & advertising work. Students will not receive a fee, but will be automatically considered for a prize. Please note that we cannot fund the creation of new work.
Submit; In the subject line please write URBAN SCREENS PROPOSAL
Email to JURY at: urbanscreenstoronto@gmail.com The jury will be comprised of Toronto Urban Screens committee members Michelle Kasprzak, Janine Marchessault, Gabe Sawhney, Suzanne Stein and Sharon Switzer.
Notification: April 1, 2010
"The Urban Screens Reader is the first book to focus entirely on the topic of urban screens. In assembling contributions from a range of leading theorists, in conjunction with a series of case studies dealing with artists’ projects and screen operators’ and curators’ experiences, the reader offers a rich resource for those interested in the intersections between digital media, cultural practices and urban space."
"Urban Screens have emerged as a key site in contemporary struggles over public culture and public space. They form a strategic junction in debates over the relation between technological innovation, the digital economy, and the formation of new cultural practices in contemporary cities. How should we conceptualize public participation in relation to urban screens? Are ‘the public’ citizens, consumers, producers, or something else? Where is the public located? When a screen is erected in public space, who has access to it and control over it? What are the appropriate forms of urban planning, design and governance? How do urban screens affect cultural experiences?"
FYI: I'm re-visiting all of the above blogs and will share what I find after I surface from the digital rabbit-hole!
"Urban Screens are dynamic digital displays and visual interfaces located within urban public spaces. They include LED screens and signs, plasma screens, information terminals and projection surfaces as well as intelligent architectural surfaces and media facades...Urban Screens transform the capacity of public spaces to serve as a platform for user-generated civic and cultural expression, community building, multiculturalism and public engagment in issues related to social, cultural and environmental sustainability....Through networking, content sharing and joint broadcasting, they constitute a rapidly expanding and still largely experimental global multimedia infrastructure for commercial and cultural exchange.""The IUSA aims to inform and support the ‘worldwide Urban Screens movement’: the expanding use of dynamic digital displays in public spaces; their considerate and sustainable integration in the urban landscape; and the ability for screen communities to collaborate in the digital space to share content, experience, ideas, innovations and emerging possibilities." Book:Media Facades: History, Technology and Content, M.Hank Haeusler
Danoo: "Location scouting and scalable web technologies combined to create a targeted DOOH experience".
If you are tech-savy and a member of the digital signage/interactive display/AV end of things, you probably know what this means. If not, you should. Things are pairing, merging, and converging in the world of "out and about" technology.
Technology, especially digital signage, is ubiquitous, and has targeted you and your neighborhood.
So what's the fuss? A company from Danoo, from China, is ramping things up in the Digital Signage/DOOH (Digital Out of Home) arena. Fast.
Danoo has rapidly up with exisiting companies, such as National CineMedia, Blue Bite, Electronic Arts, and the HISTORY channel to create and push off-the-desktop and off-the-TV content and interactive user experiences.Bill Gerba, of Wirespring, and Manolo Almagro, CTO of Show + Tell in NYC (think Times Square digital signage experiences), and others have recently written about this phenomenon, right after Danoo released the following press announcement:
Danoo Inc Announces a Breakthrough in Mobile Content Delivery(7/11/09, Business Wire) "Danoo partnered with mobile technology company Blue Bite to enable the campaigns, and is actively rolling out its mobile interactivity capability to all of its venues. The first 200 Danoo locations will be live in Los Angeles and New York by July 1st. At full deployment, Danoo will give advertisers the ability to get their content into the hands of more than 200,000 consumers in an average two-week campaign. In addition to content downloads, Danoo offers multiple ways to pair its screens with mobile interactivity to maximize campaign effectiveness, such as SMS call-to-actions, social gaming and mobile application promotion."
"Visitors to Danoo locations viewed video content on Danoo’s digital screens accompanied by an on-screen prompt to download exclusive content such as sneak peeks and ringtones from their Bluetooth or Wi-Fi-enabled devices via the Danoo network."
Here are a few related articles: How Significant is the Danoo-IdeaCast-National CineMedia Deal? (7/14/09, Bill Gerba, Wirespring) A Watershed Moment for DOOH Media (7/12/09, Bill Collins, Daily DOOH)
Pictures from Danoo's Website:
Danoo's IdeaCast- "Captive TV".
I've probably encountered Danoo's technologies numerous times, judging from my archive of pictures of displays and related technologies that have crossed my path. The TV screen on the treadmill looks just like the one I saw on a treadmill in the fitness center of a Princess cruise ship last year. The picture in the middle looks like it was taken in an airport. The picture on the right is of a system in a coffeehouse. According to information on the Danoo website, the system is interactive and includes "content downloads, social gaming, mobile couponing and more via SMS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi".
Blue Bite's website is worth looking at. It demonstrates their concept very well through animation:
Things are ramping up in my region, too. T1 Tapas, a restaurant north of Charlotte, N.C., in the Birkdale Village in Huntersville, has majority owners with a technology background. Mike Feldman and Jim Morris started up Digital Optics Corporation, which focused on optics for computers and imaging, and after they sold their company, they teamed up with Denise Feldman to establish their company.
T 1 Connection Booth with Multi-User Touch Screen, HD TV, Sound System, Computer, & more: "T1 Connection Booth seating gives you access to music, photos, and videos through built-in touchscreen tabletops, brilliant monitors, speakers, and computers."-Picture and taken from the T 1 Tapas website
The restaraunt serves as a test bed for T 1 Visions to try out their software and hardware designed to enhance the digitally connected dining experience.The restaurant was featured in May of this year on CNN:
