FedEx's "Our Changing World" Website: Interactive Information Graphics (Cartograms) and Augmented Reality Holographs on the FedX

Following a link from Nathan Yau's recent Flowing Data blog post, Our Changing World in Cartograms, I discovered that FedEx's "Our Changing World" website.  It provides an interesting way to explore data about various countries by mousing over countries on a map.

I have an HP TouchSmart PC, and found that the touch-screen interaction offered by this website was better than using the mouse.   I'm pretty sure that this website would be fun to use on a larger touch-enabled display, and in in the classroom, on interactive whiteboards.

To my surprise, I also discovered that the website offers a 3D augmented reality version of "Our Changing World": Experience the changing world in augmented reality
"See the world and the information that shapes it.  Watch it come to life as a 3-D hologram..."

(I'll play with the AR hologram later today.)


Note: 
The FedEx website provides links to additional resources for each topic area, as well as a link to the sources used for the data included in the information graphics.  It is important to remember that graphics do not always accurately depict the numbers!


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FedEx Launches Global Business Data Visualization Experience

"At experience.fedex.com, visitors can interact through a world map with data and content provided by The Economist Intelligence Unit on eight world trends initially, including air travel, people in cities, entrepreneurs and success, paper trail, business growth, education, money and happiness, and research and development.  Visitors also have an opportunity to analyze the data, share information, or participate in real-time, online polls....“At FedEx, we pride ourselves on our ability to offer great customer experiences,” said Malcolm Sullivan, vice president, Marketing, FedEx Express Asia Pacific. “Experience.fedex.com is an effective way for us to extend these experiences to the virtual world.  By making visualizations of complex and important information available to people everywhere, FedEx makes it easy for anyone to learn about their world and share their discoveries with friends.”"

FedEx Data Sources
FedEx: Our Changing World


FedEx Multimedia Center

The World is My Web Browser: Interactive Technology in Public Spaces

Off-the desktop Interactive technologies are spreading quickly, across many platforms.   It seems that within the next 3-5 years we will be able to have instant access to a social and dynamic web, with information and entertainment at our fingertips, anywhere we go. 


The "world-as-web-browser" concept is one I've touched upon in the past.  I'd like to focus on this topic in future posts.

I came across some of the information in this post on the Future of Media Blog,maintained by the folks at the Interpublic Emerging Media Lab, based in California. This blog is a must-read!


The Saatchi & Saatchi ad agency in the UK created interactive games that provide people waiting in bus shelters the opportunity to pass the time by bashing digital falling eggs.


A more utilitarian approach to interactive touch screens is the EyeStop bus stop, a concept created by researchers MIT's SENSEable City Lab, along with the city of Florence and the city's transit service:


MIT



MIT researchers unveil the EyeStop: "Bus stop of the future" can sense its surroundings (pdf)



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IPG Future of Media Blog