LM3LABS initiated a collaboration with Jean-Michel Othoniel, one of France’s most prominent contemporary artist.

The first collaboration started with Augmented Reality at the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo.
An “AR room” lets people, mostly kids, discover 12 major works from the artist which would be difficult to bring in the location.
Kids can discover, handle, turn and examine each work in details.
This room is complemented by a side workshop for kids where they can draw and color models they have discovered with AR.

The exhibition which is curated by Tokyo-based La Boite and sponsored by French apparel brand Bonpoint will last until March 11th, 2012 and will be followed by the same exhibition in Macao and New York. Bonpoint’s shops will be equipped with the Mac version of the AR application (the museum version runs on Linux).

The 3-month exhibition was inaugurated on January 6th by Imperial Princess Takamado and France’s ambassador, Mr Christian Masset.

If you are in Tokyo, you can get more information about the exhibition on Tokyo Art Beat web site.

If you can read Japanese, please check this blog selection:

http://bit.ly/xXbjXb

http://www.fashionsnap.com/news/2012-01-03/jeanmichel-bonpoint/

http://www.art-it.asia/u/HaraMuseum/nxa75MDdtPX3oSHGkRlw/

http://chibahidetoshi.blogspot.com/2012/01/blog-post.html

http://yaplog.jp/shigemi-mukuno/archive/157

Holography is a visual trick which lets viewer think they are in front of a 3D object in front of them.
Questioning the reality of holograms is questioning the reality of life “a la” matrix. A philosophical debate.

Different holographic solutions where presented and explained at a Tokyo Interaction Center event.

Whatever technology is used to create holographic images, non interactive images or animations are extremely boring and rarely engaging.

Interacting with light is a tricky issue as there is nothing to touch and placing devices like a mouse or a trackpad “killes” the effect.

Finally the best is to interact is tracking finger pointing at the hologram.

AirStrike is the perfect tool for achieving this goal.

Here is a simulation showing the association between a “dreamoc” holographic system (but there are other manufacturers, and we would be happy to collaborate with them) and AirStrike. A real object is on display. Holographic contents appear around the object and propose menu to the viewer who “clicks” it. The content can be stereoscopique adding more to the 3D effect.

Applications are numerous in retail and museums.

Here is an example designed for a luxury watch maker. The visitor points at a real watch on display in the glass case. Holographic contents appears around the selected watch.

Holography can be larger scale.

In the below example, a system similar to “Vizoo” is used to create the holographic effect which separates the viewer from the artifact.

AirStrike lets the visitor get augmented information according to where he points toward the artifact’s details.

In the continuation of the 3DFeel avatar series, LM3LABS had the opportunity to present the “Samurai avatar”, a realtime 3D masterpiece, at Futur-en-Seine in Paris.

LM3LABS was invited as part of the Cool Japan initiative. Our focus was to associate technologies to Japanese traditions.

In action at Futur-en-Seine:

Some details of the work:

We open a new site to present interactive solutions for Museums.

This site focuses on Computer Vision technologies: Gesture Tracking, Face Recognition, Passive and Active Interactivity, Augmented Reality,…

Touchless, computer vision-based technologies are well fit to museums as they are mass-proof, invisible and require no learning.

A reference site for curators of the 21st century !

http://museums.lm3labs.com

The ultimate graal in the museum industry is to bring the depth and richness of the digital world together with exhibited objects, artifacts, master pieces…

AirStrike offers a solution for interaction with those real objects but also with distant screen.

The present example is both simple to deploy and highly effective.

An AirStrike is integrated into the exhibition stand. The front rear is a plasma display. Objects, here precious Japanese ceramics are inside a glass case, out of reach from visitors.

Visitors can interact in 2 different ways.

1- They can point at an object to get information about this precise object: artist, technique, dates, etc…

2- They can also directly point at the LCD screen and navigate into digital contents: chronology, media archives, etc…

Visitors do not need to touch the glass or any device. Gestures are natural and intuitive.

Similar AirStrike deployments have been made in museums around the word.

Of course, this configuration is not limited to museum but can also serve jewellery, showrooms, luxury boutiques,…  The design is free as technology remains invisible.

Please enjoy the movie in HD.

We illustrate a simple solution to deploy for events and exhibitions.

AirStrike sensor is seamlessly installed inside the booth itself and only a narrow cleft allows the “eye contact” between the stereo vision cameras and the pointing fingers.

This installation lets visitors interact with a distant screen by simply pointing in the air toward the screen.
Exhibitors can use larger, higher quality screens which will be more visible to crowds, and will remain unharmed from them.
Despite the “invisible technology”, the touchless interaction is highly attractive by itself.

AirStrike’s precision allows virtually any type of content from picture browsing to hyperlink clicks, from web sites to 3D object handling.

This configuration is so easy to deploy that it can also fit museums, digital signage or retail shops.

As many Europeans are heading South for well deserved vacations, it is a high risk period for the fragile Mediterranean forests.

L’Institut pour la Foret Mediterraneenne (Institute for the Mediteranean Forest), a regional education center based in Gardanne, close to Marseille, in France, recently equipped with AirStrike.

Visitors can navigate a map of Southern France and Corsica, select a district, discover local treasures like rare species of trees or animals. They can also watch impressive pictures of forest fire damages.

The education center is visited by thousands of kids every week. They instantly and naturally interact with the distant content, simply by pointing in the air. It illustrates how AirStrike is well fitted to public venues like museums, education centers etc…

If Gardanne is on your way to holidays, please pay a visit to Institut de la Foret Mediterraneenne. You will learn tons of things about the Mediterranean forest, its protection and forest fires prevention.

LM3LABS unveil AirStrike Plug+Play, a touchless product aimed at museums, exhibitions centers, art galleries, showrooms and other public venues.

AirStrike Plug+Play is installed in minutes and brings distant yet precise interactivity to any display: plasma screens, projection, LED, whatever their size and distance from the user.

It is a zero learning product which instantly lets the user enjoy a unique interactive experience.
As soon as the user points his finger over the glass gate, AirStrike’s computer vision system tracks fingers in the air, translate gestures into actions to the application.

AirStrike Plug+Play is recommended in places where size matters, where expensive screens are deployed, where the user experience is paramount.

The award-winning design allows seamless integrations in the environment with minimum footprint on the floor.

The movie is HD, please play it full-screen.

More information about the product:

AirStrike Plug+Play is based on a technology deployed in many prestigious museums like Le Louvre, the Thai King Museum, Singapore Science Center or NTT Intercommunication Center:

French museum Le Louvre and Japanese DNP inaugurate today their 5th presentation at DNP Museum Lab in Tokyo.

DNP Museum Lab displays next-generation technologies applied to museums.

LM3LABS who are very active in the museum industry once again provided the interactivity.

Intallations are briefly explained on the Multimedia Display page.

The exhibition is opened to public until May 16th, 2009. Details are presented on DNP’s site.

Ubiq’window was on XM’s booth at AdTech Singapore a few days ago. Here is how it looked like.
Coordinated by Mosaic Solutions.