46 TECHNOLOGY: DEMO OF THE MONTH August 2014
DisplayMapper and MirrorBox P
Projection Artworks is looking to incorporate 3D projection mapping into in-store displays at a highly affordable cost. Paddy Baker reports
rojection Artworks is mainly known for its large-scale event-based projection mapping
projects. However, through its DisplayMapper division, the company is moving into smaller-scale 3D mapping applications with a longer shelf-life. “Four or five years ago,
LCD was the only choice for retail, but these days projectors are more affordable, more reliable and have longer lifecycles. We’ve got the education market to thank for this,” said Tom Burch, Projection Artworks’ founder and director. Additionally, displays have become such a widespread part of the retail landscape that shoppers don’t always look at them; so the retail industry needs to raise its game and offer something more experiential DisplayMapper offers self-contained, daylight visible projection mapping technology for use in in-store displays. There are four basic elements to the technology: a “low-end” projector (there are 200 to 300 suitable models on the market, according to Burch); a wireless router; a small form-factor PC; and the DisplayMapper app. “There’s nothing you would normally associate with a projector install – no keyboard, no monitors, no cable runs,” he pointed out. Content can be downloaded from the Cloud and stored locally on the PC, meaning that the same campaign can easily be rolled out to any number
of locations.
The mapping app is designed to be used by non-technical staff: it’s simply a matter of tapping the screen of an iPad to drag key points in the content onto the corresponding corners of the projection surface. This also means, said Burch,
and reflected up again by an ingenious selection of mirrors – so that the item is fully immersed in projected content. At the same time, an HD display in the back of the unit plays out additional video.
Because the projection is concentrated onto a relatively small area, the
MirrorBox combines projection, an ingenious mirror system and a background display to immerse products in video content
with the technology. For instance, in a display of mobile phones, the content being run on the display could be streamed to one of the phones when a customer picks it up. A final point from Burch: “This isn’t just for point of sale applications. It could just as easily work for window displays, alcoves,
This DisplayMapper concept uses rear-projection and mirrors
that companies can often use their regular designers and create content in 2D, which the software converts into 3D. He added that, over a three- year period, the cost of a DisplayMapper installation could be as low as £5-£10 per day. “So this is not just the domain of the flagship store.”
When I visited Projection
Artworks’ studio in London, Burch showed me a number of applications of the technology, including the off-the-shelf MirrorBox offering. This features content that is both projected down onto the product being displayed
resolution is extremely high: in a demo with a Nike trainer, the content exactly matched the design of that shoe model, with separate parts of the shoe precisely highlighted in different colours as the video imagery swept across its surface. There were other
DisplayMapper concepts on show alongside MirrorBox. One featured three Nike trainers on a wall display: as well as the colours of the shoes appearing to change, there was a line of text scrolling underneath each one. Burch explained that the wording could be replaced with live text from
DisplayMapper software enables non-technical staff to align content exactly onto the projection surface
an RSS feed at appropriate moments – for instance, when a Nike-sponsored football player scored a goal.
There are other ways in which people can interact
mannequins and other display systems.” Maybe this could be the start of projection mapping becoming as commonplace in shops as LCD displays are now?
www.projectionartworks.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60