Awhile ago we started experimenting with virtual reality headsets and producing our own content and software.

Whilst in itself a fairly mature technology, it has only come to light in the past couple of years thanks to the rise of Oculus and its acquisition by Facebook – bringing the hardware cost in the consumer/retail range.

At the moment you can purchase a headset for around $500 but if you are on a tighter budget, you can always opt for Google Cardboard or Samsung Gear.

There are games and content already available for these platforms. For instance, here’s a few picks. If you don’t have a headset yourself, come over, we’ll happily let you try ours:

(Not all the videos have been chosen for their quality or scenario – but more as a demonstration of the state of the art)

As you can see, the industry is still at the beginning of producing high-quality videos, and is still searching for a purpose and a way to exploit the technology in order to produce ROI.

For instance, we believe that the Marriott teleport initiative is a fantastic idea and if used properly, can tell interesting stories and produce a positive impact.

If you are already interested in producing 360 videos or content however do bear in mind that for now, high-quality 360 cameras are still on the higher price range. Of course, you can use one of these GoPro mounts and stitch the video files together (after having painfully synchronised them) or get one of those entry-level cameras. However in both cases you will have to compromise, either on post-production or quality, and often on both.

So our piece of advice here is that you can’t really go VR or 360 on the cheap, unless you want to risk brand equity. On the other hand, it is very tempting to jump on the VR bandwagon and produce something – anything. Perhaps the solution then is not betting everything on the actual 360 content, but rather using the VR as a mean to delivering already high-quality content, in order to procure an outstanding experience!

While waiting for the right project to come our way, we’ll continue to play VR games and experiment with the latest evolutions. Cheerio!

As Digital Specialists, we are often asked to provide insights on consumer behaviours. And digitally, this is usually done through online tracking. These methods are proven and data is available (whether is it accurately interpreted is another question…).

But have you heard about Indoor Analytics or WiFi Analytics? It is the in-store version of Google Analytics! The concept is relatively simple… At the moment, most smartphones have their WiFi turned on at all times. When the WiFi is switched on, your phone emits “beacons” that can be triangulated by WiFi sensors (or Access Points).

So… now all you need is to equip yourself with these smart nodes and you can start running your indoor analytics platform.

Well, actually, that is just the visible part of the iceberg as they say. Now that you have the receptor that will be able to receive the beacons, you need a platform that will record this data and exploit it. Our choice for our first implementation of the indoor analytics in a museum in Singapore was to go with Accuware. They provide a cloud-based platform with an API that helps managing the WiFi nodes and deals with the signal analysis and triangulation calculations.

Our job was then to develop a platform being able to make sense of the big data acquired when you are passively listening and recording the location of thousands of anonymous devices per hour.

Here are some screenshots of the basic interface.

Here we are showing a few basic capabilities of the indoor analytics dashboard:

• Visitors over time
• Average time spent globally
• Most popular locations
• Average time spent by location
• Type of devices used
• Returning vs. New visitors

We have also some pretty cool features up our sleeves, especially when we link the system with a mobile application: geo-localised push notifications.

The main difference with the traditional geo-based push notification is that they are usually triggered by the phone location device (read GPS), which works only outdoors. But here, because we know your location while you are indoor, we can contact you at the end of your visit, when you are heading for the exit, before you enter the shop or while you enjoy a sip of your cappuccino at the local coffee shop!

Indoor analytics possibilities are vast and unlimited… there are many other metrics and insights that can be leveraged. As they say… call us for a free consultation!

Ok, it may not be the biggest display on earth, but it’s still one of our coolest projects. Why?

Well, first because it’s a brand new concept of storytelling in a museum. It’s a new way to engage with audiences.

Second, because, in addition to be one of the largest touchscreen displays around, it also blends in smart technologies such as Kinect and Sound Shower.

Check out what has been said about it:

• Straits Times (09/06/2015)
• Business Times (29/05/2015)
• Channel News Asia (30/05/2015)
• The Edge Galerie (12/08/2015)
• Little Day Out (03/06/2015)
• NParks (01/2016)
• Blog: Raising our successful children (07/2015)

This project was exciting and rewarding. Our team spent more than a year working days and nights to achieve such an innovative solution.

Installation of our own interactive wall in the office

Working late on some ideas and concepts

Construction site: barebone

Getting closer to mounting the screens!

On site meetings and inspections

Screens are being delivered!

The structure is being put up.

Final touch before revealing the beast!

Calibration – DONE!

Finally, the sound showers have arrived!

As part of our interactive wall project, we needed to be able to blast different audio tracks, sound effects and voice-overs to users located next to each other. In our efforts to focus on storytelling and as an interactive wall can be a shared medium (for instance on a 8-metre interactive wall, we had thought of having 4 to 5 interactivity zones). The possibilities in terms of custom sound experience are vast. Not only can each user be told a different story, we can also make use of different languages or ensure that the sound is following each person as they walk across the room. The sound showers allow for this – and we are only limited by creativity!

But for the more technical readers, let us share a bit of knowledge after the testing that we have done and our discussion with the vendors. A major and critical factor in determining the quality and success of the directional sound experience, is the placement and installation of the sound showers. As per the diagram below, the best height for the speakers is slightly above the height of the average human ear. The speakers can be titled at angle1 in order to avoid having them at the same height as the average ear as it would obviously block the sight and prevent from viewing the screens. An angle of 20 to 35 degrees seems the way to go.

If it is not possible to install them in such disposition, then they can also be placed horizontally above the users (for instance hanged from the ceiling). But if that is the case, note that the higher the directional speaker is placed, the bigger the cone of audible sound, therefore reducing the privacy between zones. Also, mounted horizontally, there are higher chances of the sound bouncing to the neighbouring zones whereas if mounted vertically at an angle, the sound would bounce on the back of the room which, with some luck, is at a greater distance. Ah and finally, it might be necessary to soundproof some elements of the room to avoid echo or bouncing sound waves!