Listening Tables for the Horniman Museum

The Horniman Museum in South London possesses one of the most important collections of musical instruments in the UK. Since 2002 the instruments have been housed in the World Music Gallery designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates. As part of the original gallery design rom and son collaborated with Appelbaum in designing and implementing the software for an interactive music installation which could make sense of the collection and, most importantly, allow visitors to hear the sounds of the instruments.

The installation has run continuously since it was installed and has proved very popular with visitors. In 2008, as part of a major gallery upgrade, rom and son were again comissioned by the museum to rewrite the software. The 2008 version includes higher resolution imagery and a content management system allowing museum staff to edit and update the tables content in house.

950 instruments are mounted on a 28 metre long installation wall. In front of this there are 3 interactive scanning tables, each with a map of the adjacent wall projected down onto it. The visitor can spatially correlate an instrument on the wall with its animated image on the table. Visitors navigate left and right by activating control buttons set into the tabletop, selecting instruments, and listening to their sounds while reading about the people and cultures who invented and played them. The interaction is simple and intuitive. It gives the instruments a voice, connecting the sounds they make with the history of their makers.

Street Cubes for Nike

partners

pickledonion ltd

the brief

To promote the opening of the new London Nike ID store Nike comissioned pickledonion ltd, via their communications agency Naked, to build software for a set of mobile outdoor installations, the street cubes. Rom and son provided project management on the design and production of the software and integration with the physical cubes.

the project

The cubes appeared at multiple London locations in the run up to Christmas 2007. Users, attracted by the cubes videowall displays, won prizes via a bluetooth lottery which sent messages to their mobile phones.

Scanners for Science of Spying exhibition

partners

pickledonion ltd

the brief

The Science Of is a venture by the London Science Museum which creates science based shows designed to travel to museums around the world. Pickledonion ltd was comissioned to build two interactive installations for the Science Of Spying show opening simultaneously in London and Indianapolis. Rom and son supplied a mix of project management and design support to the project.

Body and brain scanners

Visitors in the role of trainee spies are faced with a difficult choice, whether to enter the mind reading brain scanner which may reveal their secret thoughts, or instead to be seen naked through their clothes in the body scanner. Upon making their choice visitors enter one of several scanning booths where both lighting and audio effects enhance the dual screen scanning experience. In reality both scanners are simulations based on developing technologies but the installation creates an unsettling experience, raising questions about privacy and surveillance technologies.

Escape scanner

At the end of the exhibiton visitors must ‘escape’ through a room sized scanner which detects human forms. In order to escape visitors must pass along an illuminated scanning wall infront of a large projected display which shows the outlines of shapes detected in the room by an infrared camera. This very large display occupies the opposite wall of the scanning room and confronts users as they enter. Visitors can see their own lifesize coloured outlines moving on the display in real time. If a shape is recognised as human an alarm sounds.
To defeat the scanner visitors must make themselves into non-human shapes, striking a wacky pose, crawling instead of walking, or joining with others into non-human-shaped clumps.
The escape scanner is a highly entertaining physical interactive experience providing a climactic high point at the end of the Science Of Spying show.

Nelson and Napoleon for Greenwich Maritime Museum

partners

Ralph Appelbaum associates UK, tomato

the brief

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich held a major ticketed exhibition titled ‘Nelson and Napoleon’ designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates. Rom and Son were comissioned to create several installations for the show including one of the centrepieces of the exhibiton, an interactive animated map of the battle itself.

Battle map table

The battle of Trafalgar involved over sixty saling ships engaged in complex maneuvers and vicious fighting over many hours. The battle table presents a 4 metre wide video projected top down view of the battle. Time is compressed and the view zooms and pans to follow the action, a voice over and surround sound audio effects both explain the unfolding events and provide dramatic atmosphere. The table also features an infrared tracking system which allows users to interact with the map of the battle as it is happening. Simply by pointing at ships on the table users create a ‘ray’ across the table surface which they can move with their hand. Pointing this ray at any of the ships on the map displays a readout of information about that ship and its role in the battle. In this way the table provides both a compelling narrative experience and an easily comprehensible view of the tactics used in the battle as well as layers of more detailed information. At least ten people can interact with this exhibit at once.

Foyer head projections

On entering the exhibition visitors come face to face with its two protagonists. We created two very large animated projections of the heads of Nelson and Napoleon which were built using 3D data scanned from busts in the museum’s collection. The slowly revolving heads were projected onto multiple layers of translucent fabric to give a three dimensional holographic effect.

Audio stairwell

Halfway through the Nelson and Napoleon exhibition visitors descend through a stairwell between two floors. Rom and son built an audio installation for the stairwell consisiting of a series of speakers spaced down the stairs to create a 3 dimensional sound space. Moving down the stairs visitors are approaching the section of the exhibition which deals with the battle of Trafalgar itself. On the way down domestic sounds of the period give way to the rumbling of the sea and cries of gulls, and finally the crashing and screams of a naval battle. The installation builds anticipation and makes the trip down the stairwell into an important part of the exhibition’s narrative flow.

Interactive menu for Anakana

the brief

Anakana opened in London’s trendy Old Street with the aim of updating the traditional Indian restaurant in a modern canteen style setting. Rom and son were commissioned to design and build an interactive menu display to be mounted in the street window.

the project

The menu we made for Anakana is designed to function not only as as a restaurant menu, but also as an attractor drawing attention to the premises and to the menu itself. The window mounted LCD screen displays animated kaleidoscopic patterns based on traditional Indian henna designs. The patterns pulse and colour shift in response to sound from the street which is picked up by a microphone mounted in the building facade. As users approach the screen and touch a sensor the patterns give way to the menu itself.

Your Ocean installation for Greenwich Maritime Museum

partners

Thomas Matthews

the brief

In the Your Ocean gallery at the National Maritime Museum visitors find out about how their daily lives affect, and are affected by, the ecology of the ocean. Thomas Matthews redesigned the gallery and asked rom and son to create the Your Ocean Wall installation to help visitors understand these connections.

the project

The installation uses a split screen arrangement with a large back projected display viewable by a crowd of visitors whilst a smaller number interact with the exhibit via a touchscreen. The large screen shows animated maritime environments. Users answer simple questions about their lifestyles via the touchscreen and the effects of their choices on the environment are played out on the big screen for all to see.

Lancia Ypsilon installation in Printemps

partners

Big Space, Milan

the brief

In order to promote the Lancia Ypsilon to a specifically female audience the car itself is displayed in the fashion department of Printemps department store in Paris. Rom and son was commissioned by Big Space in Milan to produce software which would draw attention to the installation and engage users with the car itself.

the project

On a large plasma screen touch-screen a series of fashion inspired sound reactive animations pulse rhythmically in response to ambient sound levels. They respond to any music that is playing as well as to other noise such as shouting or clapping. This response creates a simple, intuitive connection between the screen and the wider environment.

The sound reactive sequence can be interrupted at any time by touching the screen. This leads the user into a touch-screen ‘finger painting’ experience where they can create a personalised image of the Lancia Ypsilon. The emphasis here is not on specific features and options available with the actual car but rather on an aesthetic engagement, producing a rich, multi-layered, beautiful image with the car at it’s heart. When satisfied with their creation users are offered the chance to print out their image as a card to take away with them.

Red Earth kiosk attractor

the brief

Red Earth is a popular make up brand in Hong Kong with multiple retail stores. Having already invested in digital technology in the form of an instore kiosk offering product information and advice to customers Red Earth were keen to present this facility in an interesting and edgy way which would grab the attention and imagination of shoppers.

the project

Rom and son developed attractor software to draw shop visitors to engage with the kiosk content.

On approaching the kiosk the user notices a large attractive image of a model’s face on the screen. The image is animating in response to the music and background noise of the store, bringing the screen to life by creating an immediate, sensory link between the real world and the screen.

Text invites onlookers to touch the screen. Just to see what will happen the user reaches out a hand, as their finger touches the screen the image ripples like a liquid in response. Delighted by the sensual, beautiful and surprising effect of their interaction the user touches the screen a second time; they begin to drag their finger across the screen and to stab at the screen in different places, the image ripples and waves in response. Once the user is engaged with this immediately entertaining interactive experience they are offered the chance to delve deeper into the content of the kiosk.

Interactives for Falmouth Maritime Museum

partners

Scena, Land Design Studio, Harris Blythe

the brief

To design and build a suite of interactive installations to provide NMMC visitors with hands on experience of maritime navigation methods and meteorlogical phenomena.

the project

Rom and son collaborated with Land Design Studio to create 4 different interactive installations for the museum’s meteorology and navigation gallery.

Lows and Fronts

How do huge weather formations passing overhead affect the weather we experience on the ground? The lows and fronts installation allows visitors to take control of a weather system in order to answer this question. A tabletop model of a typical weather system is mounted over a map of the UK so that users can drag the weather across the country. The position of the NMMC in Falmouth is marked with an LED and an onscreen display shows the weather conditions, such as temperature, rainfall, wind speed and cloud type which are experienced at NMMC as the weather system passes.

Navigation by Mark

Museum visitors use an actual boat tiller to steer a virtual boat on a treacherous circumnavigation of an island. 3D graphics are used to show the view from the boat and the marker buoys, or marks, which signpost the safe passage between hidden sandbanks and submerged rocks. New marks, and their meanings are introduced en route and players must interpret them correctly as well as steer the boat in order to sucessfully complete the course.

Eyes in the Sky

This installation displays an interactive animated satellite image showing current weather over the UK. Visitors can control the animation via a slider which allows them to rewind, fast forward and freeze-frame the weather of the last 72 hours. The installation also provides supplementary info to help visitors interpret the satellite image. The images themselves are downloaded on the fly from the Met Office via an internet connection.

Vector Chart

Modern sailors use computer based chart software to calculate and plot the courses they navigate. The vector chart installation offers museum visitors the chance to use a simplified simulation of such software to plan a sailing trip to the Isles of Scilly. Utilising functionality such as tide tables and downloaded weather info visitors are challenged to calculate the optimal departure time and route for their journey.

Paul Smith in store installation

the brief

To create a physical interactive installation in Paul Smith Jeans which responds graphically to sound. The installation should encourage visitors to sing and shout, increase footfall and generate PR and word of mouth recommendation.

the project

The Paul Smith sound interactive is a suite of sound toys running on a snow white Apple I-mac, without keyboard or mouse. The only way you can interact with the sound toys is via the built in microphone input - by shouting or singing. The software comprises 8 different interactives based around the character of R. Newbold - a workwear brand owned by Paul Smith. There are 5 toys based around the tag line “R. Newbold was a very practical man”. Each toy shows R. Newbold damaging himself in some way or other. For example in one toy he is holding a hair dryer very close to his head. The hair dryer responds to sound input - the louder the input the harder the hair dryer blows. If you shout loud enough the hair dryer blows R. Newbold’s head right off. The remaining 3 toys are abstract representations of sound. They help the user to understand the direct relationship between the ambient sound level in the store and the onscreen visuals.