Overview

I was contracted by Imagination Sydney, along with three other developers, Rhys Turner, Stephen Beeson and Ben Spooner to create 12 touch screen applications, along with 4 additional supporting applications. I took the lead on 9 of these, and supported on the rest. Adobe air was used to package the applications and the Away3D and Starling libraries were used extensively throughout the applications to produce full 1080p 60 frames per second experiences. A majority of the applications had RFID card integration, which enable users to unlock the applications and download additional content.

Application Breakdown

As visitors arrive at the centre, the first thing they see as they exit the elevator are the “Entrance Welcome Screens”. These are two ~10feet screens that sit either side of the elevator exit. They are very basic applications that simply display a GE welcome message in both English and Arabic. At this point visitors are ushered to one of four of the “Registration Screens”. This is where RFID cards are issued and where visitors can update user data associated with their RFID card. The “Registration Screens” also explain what the centre is about and how the RFID cards can be used with the other applications. While visitors are setting up their RFID cards they can also absorb data and info graphics that are displayed on the “Stats Wall”, which is a 10×8 Christie Micro-tile array, measuring around 4.1 x 2.5 meters. This application was built using the Box2D physics library and Starling. The next three applications are horizontal scrollable timelines which showcase the history of GE, it’s products and it’s goals for the future.

The “Innovation App” is composed of two synchronous air applications. Typically the first screen is used to ask the visitor question and the other is used to display the correct answer along with supporting data and info graphics. The LED Walkway is a 60 meter long low-fi LED screen which plays a dozen or so abstract animations relating to various topics which are talked about through out the centre. Depending on the subject matter either, Starling, Away3D or the classic display list are utilized to dynamically generate the animation. The “Pillar Interactive Experiences” are five adobe air touch screen applications which are used to communicate ideas and start conversations relating to oil reserves, peak water demand, transportation, health and infrastructure.

People of the Kingdom is an application dedicated to playing video interviews of influential people within Saudi and GE. Vision2020 is a touch screen with a synchronised rear projection that sits about 5 meters in front of the user. Both applications are built with adobe air and communicate via the open source RTMFP protocol.