DESIGN EDITOR’S PICKS
INTERACTING WITH AIR
The new wave of virtual reality and augmented reality is crest- ing, and the world of architec- ture and design is already being touched, pun most assuredly intended.
One company in Dallas is de- veloping an augmented reality product that could change the way we purchase products and interact with them at work and home. Spacee is designing spa- tial experiences using a digital, projected overlay that is fully programmable and interactive through touch.
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The first working version of the platform was used in a partnership with Mercedes-Benz of Plano and showcased at the Willow Bend Mall. In this test, Spacee created an overlay
on the latest Mercedes-Benz. Customers could interact with touchable icons made of light to explore available information simply by placing their hand on the virtual icon, triggering con- tent in the form of an animated video. Once the video was complete, the customer could select additional icons and explore more information about the vehicle. The touchable icons were not limited to only one spot on the vehicle and, in fact, the space around the vehicle could be active as well. Imagine walking onto the surface of an enormous iPad and using your body as the stylus. Now you begin to get an idea of how Spacee allows you to interact within its world.
The company is developing a wall-size product that is able to transform any 2-D surface into a touch screen. This includes any existing table, other piece of furniture, sculpture, appliance, etc. Using projection technol- ogy, a camera and computer, the Spacee wall can turn any existing surface into an interac- tive display system. The system is simple to install, easy to move and does not require permanent installation.
Imagine sitting on a sofa and being able to order pizza from the cushion or ordering food and drinks from the surface of the table in a restaurant. Sculp- tures at events can interact with attendees and become digital signs.
“Interaction without addi- tional devices creates a more seamless experience,” says Skip Howard, CEO of Spacee and former web manager for Hillwood and the Perot Companies. “You interact with your environment and the ob- jects within it directly, not indirectly through a third-party device. It’s post-mobile technol- ogy and 100 percent frictionless.” Spacee is the brainchild of co-founders Howard and Marc Gilpin, along with Larry McNutt. Howard Gilpin developed the technology as a way to make the physical world digitally interactive. He then took on the role of chief creative officer and developed a method for artists and designers to showcase how Spacee technology can be implemented. “By merging products, media and intelligence into a physical space, Spacee is able to deliver an experience that is unobtrusive, magical and simply elegant,” Gilpin says.
The possibilities for a tech- nology like Spacee are only limited by the imagination of the designers utilizing it. In the 1990s the promise of virtual and augmented reality was damp- ened by the lack of computer power, but today, an iPhone holds more computer memory than most desktops of years past. Spacee is taking advan- tage of this progress to create advances of its own in marketing and design.
Step into the future. Step into Spacee.
spacee.com
Photograph courtesy of Spacee
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