The Alternative, a London based Creative Agency, has developed a unique way to engage passers-by on busy London streets

By admin at January 16, 2008 | 3:36 am | Print

The Alternative, a London based Creative Agency, has developed a unique way to engage passers-by on busy London streets.

In addition, this innovation has provided Orange with a fun way to excite and entertain customers for hours after their Carnaby Street retail store has closed for the day. The installation in the store’s main window employs a large projection screen and highly advanced piece of motion capture technology. This installation has been developed by The Alternative and this is the first time it’s been shown to the public. Using a large projected image and a touch-free interface, the installation provides users with a very engaging new way to activate news, film clips, music videos and many of Orange’s unique services. To use it you simply wave your hand in thin air, because there are no buttons or touch-sensitive surfaces employed. All you need is a hand, and the ability to wave it wildly without caring what you look like.

This ground-breaking innovation really does appear to be a world-first, so naturally it’s hard to create suitable comparisons. If forced to make one, Gavin Martin, Creative Director of The Alternative, says, “This really is the next generation of the user interface. We wanted to throw out all the traditional ways if interacting with technology and start from scratch. We created this with the needs of humans in mind, not computers. A few people have referenced the film ‘Minority Report.’ The similarities are there with exception that with our interface you don’t need a ‘magic glove’, or indeed a controlled environment.” One of the most impressive features isn’t a technical one, however. It’s how the window turns even the most reserved person into a piece of street theatre within seconds. “The interactive is just as much fun when you watch others use it as it is to play with yourself. Because it requires movement, it is very intuitive and great fun. Tests have shown that we can now make a playful child out of any grown adult in a matter of seconds!” adds Martin.

The motion-capture system will undoubtedly find many more exciting applications across a wide variety of sectors. To properly appreciate the technology and the street theatre it generates, you simply must experience it.
More at:www.thealternative.co.uk

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