Interactive wall

AnyPixel from Google.

For sometime now, if you wanted to create an interactive wall, you had to have some pretty solid coding skills or know someone who did. There are a ton of open source frameworks to get the job done, but none of them are very easy to use. Thanks to Google that is changing. AnyPixel.js an an open source code and hardware library created so you can make interactive displays out of pretty much anything. The library contains a solid base of code, and schematics that can be modified for things like lights, screens and sensors. The video below shows it in action at the Google New York offices. Google used 5880 off-the-shelf arcade buttons as our pixels.

Get the code library here.

Tronic’s Interactive Walls for Target and Marriot.

One of the things that sucks about traveling, id being stuck in an airport that offers nothing to do except wait for a charging station to open up, or a way to clog your veins with fat filled goodness from Sbarro or some other god awful fast food joint. One thing that is true, airports are an environment that is ripe with opportunity for advertisers to take advantage of, if they choose a compelling and unique way to deliver their advertising content.

I have been interested in interactive walls, and projected interactive media for some time now, and I think this execution from Tronic for Xerox and Target are spot on examples of how great this medium could be.

Working in partnership with Young and Rubicam New York, Tronic designed and produced two interactive, live action productions for Target and Marriot Hotels. Both segments were created to promote the Xerox business-to-business campaign that launched in September of this year. The two productions run in rotation on life-sized, nine-screen interactive video walls at Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles and nine other airports in the United States.

Tronic is known for its ability to blend digital and physical media in unique ways, and this campaign showcases the way Tronic was able to create a new form of advertising that mixes gesture based interactivity with live action commercials. What works really well here is how the advertising is no longer a passive experience, but instead how it is now disrupt and interactive. How a standard commercial has transformed itself into something that is actually fun and offers an almost game like experience.

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BMW Joy 3D Projection Campaign.

Over the last couple of years there has been an explosive growth in a new medium called 3D Projection Mapping. This is where motion and interactive designers project images directly onto the surface of a building, mapping it in many cases to fit the physical geometry of the structure. Most of the works I have seen have been art installations, or a complimentary piece that goes with a concert or other outdoor performance. Where this gets really interesting though, is the way 3D Projection Mapping is beginning to be used in advertising. A great example of this is “BMW Joy 3D” in Singapore.

I haven’t been able to find out if this concept was developed by BMW’s marketing division, or if this is the brainchild of BMW’s agency of record. It doesn’t really matter, what matters is the effectiveness of this interactive work. As you watch the video look at the way people are reacting to it. There is total engagement form the audience. People are photographing and shooting video of the piece in action. When was the last time you saw anyone behave this way about a billboard?

The video effectively uses 3D effects, and includes a small tribute to Pacman, as well as classic BMW billboards. Keeping the message focused on the BMW brand, the tag lines “Joy is BMW” and “Efficient Dynamics” are present through out the piece as well.

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The Moodwall.

I love this kind of thing. Interactive walls that respond to movement, light and shadow are one of things I could look at and play with for hours. And While interactive wall technology isn’t new, this example is really nice.

Moodwall is a pilot project for a 230 foot long media wall designed and built by Urban Alliance (in collaboration with Daan Hartoog) to improve the public space of the social unsafe area of the Amsterdam Bijlmer.

Moodwall interacts directly with people passing through the tunnel, improving the atmosphere and making people happy and feel less unsafe. The interactive urban wallpaper is built out of about 2500 LEDs behind a ribbed semi-transparent wall. The curves in the wall make it less suitable for graffiti and improve the visibility of the content for the side. The light patterns are stretched over the length of the wall increasing the viewing angle, and to help prevent the tunnel from becoming a hang-out spot.

Moodwall was designed by Jasper Klinkhamer of Studio Klink, in collaboration with (Cube)’s Remco Wilcke, who also constructed the wall.The content was developed by Hans van Helden and Matthijs ten Berge of Illuminate in collaboration with artist Matthias Oostrik and students of the dutch art academy HKU.

I tried to find out more information on the programming and how the wall interacts with pedestrians to change as people walk past, but found no real information. If I come up with any additions I’ll update this post.