SEEN & NOTED: SUNNYVALE, CA — Interactive video walls have been gaining popularity. This latest example comes to us by way of Tronic Studios, a New York-based multimedia design studio that has recently produced a series of high profile interactive video projects, most notably for GE imaging Systems "Visible You" campaign at the Shanghai World's Fair, and an interactive campaign for Xerox that highlighted examples of Xerox's services for Marriott Hotels and Target which is currently running in major airport terminals across the United States.
Hello Yahoo! What Do You Know?
Tronic Studios latest work can be seen at Yahoo!'s campus and features a nine screen, 3 x 3 interactive video wall that engages with viewers as they pass by the screen. As people walk by the display the video wall begins to interact with viewers. The system senses a viewer's presence and initiates a greeting to attract their attention. An animated sequence opens with a life-size Yahoo! logo that is built from stacks of tiles. Each tile is actually an interactive icon representing one of Yahoo!'s interactive properties that include finance, sports, news or horoscopes. The logo animation's tiles start by slowly following people to catch their attention. At this point most people stop and look at the screen—even a simple movements, like shifting of shoulders or raising arms, will cause the tiles to mimic their movements. Once people realize that their gestures and hand movements can control the screen they begin to interact, moving them around, piling them up, even pushing the tiles off the screen.
"This gesture-based installation is actually a brand-learning tool that allows people to interact with key Yahoo! properties and experience them in a new way. Rather than through touch, track-pad or mouse interaction, you interface with something that feels alive in front of you," said Tronic co-founder Vivian Rosenthal.
As Tronic's designers watched people interact with the display they noticed that at first most people were coy and gentle, but as they continued to interact their movements became more playful, even aggressive. Quick movements trigger the display to go into "carousel mode," which presents a new level of information. Carousel mode enables viewers to select individual tiles that fly forward to display additional information, some of which is drawn from live feeds from the Yahoo! Website.
Yahoo!'s agency, Goodby Silverstein Partners commissioned Tronic, telling them how important it was that there be no instructions whatsoever, rather, people should discover the display's almost lifelike quality on their own, play with it, and become familiar with its response patterns. "You actually build a sort of relationship with the display," said Ms. Rosenthal. "People told us repeatedly that it was great not to have instructions because it enabled them to explore the interface and discover its characteristics on their own terms."
Read More About Tronic Studio's Work for Xerox Here: Xerox Interactive Digital Out-of-Home Campaign Launched at Major Airport Locations
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