Category Archives: Uncategorized

Marketing Technology Project: Interactive Vending Machine!

Posted on by Josh Stauffer

A Combination of Fun and Promotion

At AGENT X, we love creative examples of technology and improving the world around us. From the project management dashboard we built to augmented reality, we’ve shared a few good examples. Today we’re sharing something that has a foot half in/half out of the project archive: an interactive digital display touch screen vending machine. It started with a simple “what if” conversation and ended up with a pretty kick-ass idea that had a supporting campaign alongside it. If you haven’t been to our office, then you’ve missed out on the classic pop machine we have sitting in our lobby area. Having a vintage vending machine was pretty cool for a little while, but the longer it sat there the more ideas we had for modifying it. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to put another AGENT X touch on the office and have a little fun with some new technology; this kind of stuff is why we went into marketing anyways!

 

It’s Alive!

The general idea behind this entire project came out of a single idea. Lets make the Vending Machine come alive and mess with people give the user a fun experience. You see, at the time we were in the middle of a project utilizing large scale multi-touch screens and we thought it would be pretty awesome if we could place one of them into the front of the vending machine so that it blended into the graphic on the front. From there we would be able to give the machine a personality and face that could come alive when people used the machine or triggered the motion sensor in the Kinect attached to the screen. Imagine walking up to the machine and it opens it’s eyes and sticks it’s tongue out at you. Since the screen would be touch sensitive users would also be able to interact with it by poking it in the eye(which would make a random pop drop out of the bottom), pinching it’s mouth closed or slapping it’s face. Just don’t expect the machine to take all that abuse sitting down, it might make you beat it at Tic Tac Toe or hop on one foot for 30 seconds to get a pop after that sort of treatment.

 

We Can Rebuild you, We Can Make You Stronger.

So to make all of this happen we’re obviously going to need to do some major work. First the machine is going to get an external makeover and then an internal tune-up. The makeover will consist of a new LED display for scrolling text, a new multi-touch screen display for user interaction, a RFID reader on the front of the machine to gather data (the reader will also replace the coin or cash insert) and a Microsoft Kinect featured at the top of the machine for pure fun. The tune-up will consist of a new server box to connect to the server and store all of the information that we gather from the RFID, an Ethernet board to communicate with the server, and a circuit box including micro controllers.

Once all of that is up and running we’ll be able to track institute all kinds of interesting man vs. machine challenges and interactions, stay tuned for some new developments on this in the near future.

Like the idea? Hate it? Tell us.

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AGENT X Digital+Live Awesomeness Awards w6

Posted on by Andrew Rushmore

Hello lab readers! I’m filling in for Josh Stauffer to work on this weeks post, sharing a fraction (the best) of the weekly finds that provide inspiration. We appreciate you reading – and welcome feedback. If you’re ready to take your brand/branding to the next level, get in touch with us today via agent-x.com.

 

Marketing is expanding to a world where interactions are no longer limited by distance and distractions. How cool would it be to have one of these magnets on your fridge? It may be a diet killer – but would you replace that pizza magnet with a healthy salad? The possibilities are endless. Check it out…

 

“Cloud Gate”, or as it’s commonly referred to – the Bean – saw an impressive revitalization thanks to projection mapping. Nearly any surface is open for projection mapping – and the Chicago artists Sean Gallero and Petra Bachmaier certainly did a good job. Where else could projection mapping be used? We’re glad you asked. Check it out…

 

What would I do for my 125th anniversary? Well. Probably nothing as cool as what Coca Cola did in 2011.  Antilop created a stunning immersive environment in a 90 square meter 270-degree projection system. Seeing a trend here? One of the largest limiting factors to your brand exploring projection mapping is a limitation of light – pretty hard to do these things during the day! Check it out…

 

For all the work we go through every day to get ready to leave the door – this video puts it all to shame. Watch someone’s face being used as a projection mapping surface. This was put out by Samsung, Portugul to promote the release of the Galaxy Y Duos. There was some hard and heavy planning put into this execution, we’re standing and clapping. Check it out…

 

It’s time to share some personal loves of mine – if you haven’t “Liked” us on Facebook yet go take a look! (www.facebook.com/weareagentx) I, with the rest of the team, share things we find that tickle our brains – robots is a personal favorite of mine. While the marketing implications aren’t exactly oblivious – they could certainly be used at a high tech experiential event. Kick the robot anyone? It’s the new hottest sport.

So readers – go to Facebook and let me know who you think wins the cool battle – the robot that can roll, or the robot that can jump?

Check out the robot that can roll…

Check out the robot that can jump…

 

Augmented Reality: Becoming a Reality

Posted on by Josh Stauffer

The days of reading a bedtime story with a few pictures on the page is forever in the past. The digital version of books, billboards, and life as we know it will soon be using augmented reality to deliver content. We’ve been doing similar to this for a few decades by hiding easter eggs of content in our traditional media, the secret spot in the original Mario Bros. where you get the flute to change levels or an extra scene in a movie after the credits. Augmented Reality or AR, has been traditionally used to create content much like this to create secret treats that only a handfull of people know about. These modern easter eggs have been steadily picking up steam as innovative developers and savvy brands embrace the possibilities that this new medium offers. What was once a treat enjoyed only by a few technology lovers is now becoming something people look for in well done campaigns and media. Of course just like everything else, doing it is easy but doing it right is the real trick.

 

This week at SXSW Marvel Comics announced a comic book that will merge the digital and paper world of comics for the first time. Each comic will have an “AR” logo such as the one in the image above. These new comics will let readers see Iron Man fly off the page and take down the Hulk by simply downloading the free Aurasma app. Merging books and AR isn’t a completely new idea but offering it on such a large scale hints at the growing trend and appeal of the technology. Marvel certainly won’t be the last to adapt this tech, especially in the realm of children’s books. It won’t be long before we see Dr. Seuss’ books with AR worlds popping out of the pages.

 

The Marketing industry has been using AR for some time now as well, especially in the toy industry. However companies such as Domino’s, Starbucks and Volkswagen are joining in. For instance look at the Domino’s billboard above, they are now using AR to connect to customers and allowing them to download the app to make an order, see the menu, and find locations. All of these options are hidden on the billboard but can only be accessed with the AR application.

 

Take a look at Volkswagon’s marketing campaign for the new Beetle. They went all out and people responded in kind by downloading the app and getting rewarded with an AR treat that goes well beyond what the user was expecting. This sort of visual and tactile marketing to people through the use of their mobile devices creates a much more lasting connection to the brands that they engage with, the viewer isn’t being forced to look at advertising because it’s rammed in their face, they actively engage with it and initiate the conversation.

With brands jumping into the augmented world left and right, developments such as Googles rumored release of a pair of AR glasses has us all on the edge of our seats. What infinite possibilities await us when the entire world can be augmented without constraint? Will brands and Marketing campaigns respect the same user initiated paradigm when they can broadcast advertisements onto any surface or space? Will we be able to “un-augment” our world at will? I guess we’ll just have to find out.

AGENT X Digital+Live Awesomeness Awards w4

Posted on by Josh Stauffer

Alright, we’ve got a pretty big line up here. Everything from mapping out concentration levels in the minds of children, to capturing nature hikes in step-by-step 360 degree technology. With all of this new technology emerging its still clear that the real gems don’t just use the new tech, they use it for something that no one else thought of. Take a look at some of the best new projects you’ve never heard of before now. If you’re looking for someone to help you pull off something like this please feel free to drop us a line.

 

Varier asked B-Reel to help them out with creating designs for their new Variable Balans children’s desk line. Since the product was designed specifically to help kids concentrate B-Reel decided to see exactly what that might look like. They invited three children to help design the chairs by mapping out their brain activity and concentration levels and then using the resulting output as a basis for their designs. I’d hate to think what the fourth design would have looked like if they invited me to try it out. Check it out…

 

Wonderwall Studio is doing something both green and great at the same time. I think this is a much better route then a gaudy primary color as an accent wall for your office, but hey you don’t have to take it from me. Combine the unique look with the fact that even someone as clumsy as me could put this up with a nail gun and a level and I think the product pretty much sells itself. Check it out…

 

Ponk combines the best of old school classic gaming and new technology by grafting Pong and Kinect. If you’re looking to rent this thing or partner up they seem to be open to that idea as well. The videos of people demonstrating the Ponk table look pretty fun, I just hope the top of that thing is spill proof. Check it out…

 

City Peaks is a microsite created by London based agency Digit. In order to encourage their own employees to be more active and use the stairs instead of the lift they installed RFID card readers on the bottom and top of the building. The resulting microsite tracks each persons progress as they race to reach to top of famous London skyscrapers. This is a pretty interesting behavior modification program with it’s own set of motivations, sure Nike Fuel and Fitocracy boast huge social networks with loose social pressure but creating the same system in a microcosm certainly seems effective as well. Check out the project and then check on their progress…

 

Nature Valley Trail View is the child of Google Street View technology and National Park Splendor. Instead of imagining what it might be like to hike through the Grand Canyon you can instead step through the 360 degree views of the trail second hand. Which is great for guys like me who are terrified of tripping and falling into gorges. If the Grand Canyon isn’t really your cup of tea you can try out Yellowstone or the Great Smokies.  Check it out…

Interactive Welcome Screen

Posted on by Kyle Harris

// The Concept

We are starting something pretty exciting here at Agent X. In an attempt to make our office more connected, we are in the works of creating an interactive welcome screen that can also serve as an ambient control system for our entire space.

There is a lot that we want to do with this, and while we are still in the planning stage, we are sharing using this first post as a mind dump of components that we want to include.

// Components

In order to create an experience that is both engaging and useful, we don’t want to leave any possible element unturned.

  • Clock Resting state for the interface.
  • NewsNot that we are too busy, but for the occasional visitor waiting, it is a great way to pass time.
  • Virtual Check-in A visitor is typically looking for someone. With the virtual check-in feature, they can send an alert directly to the person’s computer notifying them of a visitor.
  • Attendance Possibly done using RFID, if en employee is not in the office, the system will show them as out.
  • Weather Our headquarters in Michigan, the weather changes constantly. From the time a visitor enters the office, until the time they leave, it may be completely different outside. Pulled from weather.com or a similar source, the weather feature is a fully-capable weather app with high definition visualization of current conditions and forecasts.
  • Company Information Elevator speech, portfolio elements, general company information, history timeline… you know, everything someone might want to know about our company.
  • Ambient ControlsThis is where I get really excited thinking about the opportunities. Nothing would say technologically adept than to have ambient controls such as lighting, temperature and music controls in a central location.
  • Agency Calendar For internal use mostly. A nice exercise in visualization of data, with the benefit of seeing company wide bandwidth. If possible, pulling in iCal information to show meetings and availability would be ideal.
  • The actual welcome screen We have tried this in the past by uploading the logo of a visiting client on the TV in the conference room. It was rather successful, but a bit time consuming, and requests to have display screens typically came last minute. Nonetheless, with proper planning this would be a nice touch to let potential clients feel even more welcome.

// The Build

Some basic ideation and planning has been done as to how the finished frame will look. We want to create a unit that has the ability to not only house and feature the touchscreen, but also hide the other various components that enhance the overall experience, i.e. Kinect, speakers, RFID reader…

// Technology

I’m sure we are going to find different / more elements that we are going to need  in order to create the best experience possible.

/ Hardware

  • mac mini The power behind the experience. Compact enough to hide.
  • 42″ Touchscreen monitor Sufficient size we think. While we want to make this an immersive experience, we certainly want to avoid the overwhelming
  • Microsoft Kinect Detect voice and movement.
  • Speakers Part of creating ambience in the office will rely on sounds and music.
  • RFID detection

/ User Interaction

  • Touch Ahh, the physical touch. Most of us are accustomed to it through smart phones and tablet; the challenge will be to create and experience that would rather be had on a screen that would be better than not…
  • Movement For us, this is key. Most interactive displays detect touch, but we want to this experience to go further. When you walk up to the screen, or walk past it, it recognizes a potential user. This creates a much more organic experience between the user and the interface.
  • Voice Also done with the Kinect.
** None of the examples in the main image are the work of Agent X, but instead of the incredibly talented creative individuals that continue to create and inspire. **

Immersive iPad Video? Yes Please.

Posted on by Brian Steketee

Video. Pictures. They’re great, and we’ve become used to having them at our finger tips in our lives. But what about iPad apps offering immersive video? Read on…but fair warning, as much as I love tech I admit I’m the innovator, not the coder. You’ll have to contact us and talk to our team if you want the technical details!

 

For those of you that don’t know – Agent X had the opportunity to partner with Charter Communications last year to throw a large scale concert event supported with an integrated digital campaign. The event was called Charter Center Stage.

When it came time to set up for the event, I was amazed at the sheer size of the event. Don’t believe me? Check out the stitched photo below (via the Microsoft Photosynth App)

 

So there I was. Standing in the middle of a dirt field while production crews bustled and hustled around me, tirelessly working on the venue to prepare for the event the next day. I realized, standing there: there needs to be a better way to share these moments. Photosynths are great, and the app Tourwrist has done a good job of making that technology social, but there’s so much more room to grow.

That especially became true when I tried to share this content with the crew back in the main office that didn’t make it to the event. They just couldn’t grasp the sheer size of the event. Here’s a few other shots, still not sharing the full scale well.

 

Now the challenge became capturing the true experience of an event such as Charter Center Stage in a way that is more expressive than pictures alone. So, being an innovator surrounded by some pretty smart people, we set out to build a 360 degree experience for the iPad tablet and iOS that would allow users at home to really dig in and enjoy an event such as this to the best ability, without having to leave their sofas. Hey, I get it, I’m busy, I don’t have chances to go to concerts like I used to! I’m sure you can relate.

Our tool box for this project consists of Corona as our tablet development tool, Unity for playing with the 360 degree visualizations, and of course software that helps us stick together the thousands of assets we had to work with from the event.

Above is a screen shot of the actual app we’re developing (we edited it into an iPad screen for realistic appeal of course!) We’ll have a future post with video to show it in action.

This app is amazing, and offers functionality making it possible for someone that was not attending an event to be able to:

1. Have some ability to “remote view” the venue as mocked up below.

2. Tap into the live HD feed streaming on Facebook

3. Provide the ability to cycle through 8 different camera angles

4. Link through Apple air play to allow some one at home viewing the show to share the event onto their TV for group viewing

5. Create interactive elements for each major function of the event to provide an additional experience for users (Main event, VIP, interactive areas, “back stage”, artists corner)

Stay tuned for more on this project, we’re quite excited to share this with the world. If you’re interested in this technology set up a time to stop by our main office and we’ll discuss opportunities for you and your brand.

Like this post? Hate it? Well interact with us online, we don’t bite:

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Thanks for reading, until the next post,

Brian Steketee

Kinect – OpenNI and Processing

Posted on by Matt Plichta

(part 1 of series)

Why OpenNI?

We’ve all heard of the Kinect device, or the Microsoft XBox 360 by now and those of us in the developer community are aware that Microsoft has released a second version of the Kinect SDK for Windows. When asked to try to uncover the capabilities and possibilities of this new technology the Microsoft SDK is where I began.

Note: A standalone Kinect is required as the units that come with the XBox 360 use a non-standard USB connector. An adapter is available but rather hard to track down, so I went with the extra camera available at most big box retailers.

While the demos are cute, and installing the camera and SDK is fairly simple (Windows 7 only), the Visual Studio development environment created a super steep learning curve.

Enter OpenNI and Simple OpenNI open source drivers and libraries that can be used whether you work on a Mac, PC or Linux and like to code by hand using Processing.

Depth Camera

The camera consists of (left to right) an infrared projector, infrared depth camera and RGB camera. In addition to the camera there are 4 microphones and a servo motor in the base. WALL-E anyone?

Above is what the camera sees with the depth camera at left and RGB camera at right. Not a whole lot to look at, but notice the shades of grey and black in the depth camera image (lighter shades the closer the subject). The infrared projector projects thousands of infrared dots that the depth camera uses to measure distance.

 

Point Cloud

The image above shows how I was able to create shapes within the point cloud that when touched will trigger drum sounds. Being a musician myself, the idea of a virtual drum set was too cool to pass up. What about the angle of the view? Yes, the kinect camera is right in front of me so how did I get that shot? One more thing to add… the image rotates in 3D.

3D

In the video clip below from daniel shiffman you can see the effect in action:

Another kinect sighting

While browsing the flickr gallery for the New Zealand band Pajama Club I came across this behind the scenes shot from their upcoming video:

Here’s a link to a preview of the video giving some clues as to how the director is using the kinect, OpenNI and Processing:

Click here (use Chrome, Safari or Firefox for best results)

What do you want to see created with this new technology? I’ll be writing another post soon to let you know where I’ve taken my ideas.

The Sphere

Posted on by Josh Stauffer

We’ve been working with this piece of technology for about a year now and the more we do with it the more possibilities we seem to unearth. In its most simplistic form the sphere is a pretty cool and novel piece of technology that lends itself well to group settings and events. It can be used for things as simple as projecting video in 360 degrees or as complex as fully interactive touch sensitive applications built to spec for clients. But where we’ve begun to really see some cool new possibilities is the area of mobile device interoperability.

This idea here is to build up an application for the sphere that can allow for multi-player cooperative game play using your mobile device as a controller and possibly even motion capture from a Kinect to create a engaging experience that will become the RnD framework for client pitches later.

We’ve also been looking into interesting ideas of combining AR (Augmented Reality) and the Sphere, heres a look at a screenshot grabbed out of one of our iPads running a prototype app to test if the curvature of the sphere would throw off the image recognition software, initial success seems promising in this area.

Here are some videos of the initial prototype apps we’ve created for brands like Symantec and Redbull to help illustrate soem use cases for the sphere specific to their own brands.

 

 

The two major challenges we have here are hardware and software. From the hardware perspective we already have a pretty solid framework to start from since were dealing with a mostly complete product and modifying it to fit our needs. The custom lens, projector equipment, LED touch ring and sound system have already been tested out and are ready to go. Aside from that the rest of the hardware will end up off site in the form of a server and wireless network setup.

The software component of this is where the real tricky parts are going to come into play. In the past we’ve used Unity 3D to facilitate prototype development for the sphere and right now we are planning to use it for this RnD project as well. From there were going to need to hook in Touch OSC and some multiplayer capability for the prototype.

Right now we’re focused on getting some open source components up and running on the device so we can test out the general functionality and get a better idea of the strengths and weaknesses of each software option.

 

Google Fiber: And the Winner Is…

Posted on by admin

For those of you who haven’t heard yet, Google has made its decision regarding its broadband fiber initiative. Here’s a hint: it’s somewhere in Kansas, and its initials are KC…

Read all the details here:

Ultra high-speed broadband is coming to Kansas City, Kansas

From all of us at Agent X (formerly Steketee Greiner and Company) to all of you out there who put in all the time and effort and devotion at the local level around this initiative, we just want to say, in case no has or ever does, we were sincerely impressed, and you’re ALL winners in our book.

X Now Marks the Spot

Posted on by admin

In case you haven’t noticed, something is different about our blog.  No, it’s not that we’ve shifted directions and are now food critics at large (because the world needs another one of those). But there is definitely something different…

We have a new name! Steketee Greiner and Company has merged with experiential marketing agency Agent X out of Chicago, and we are now calling the new collective Agent X.

We’re still offering our clients the same full-service solutions in strategic planning, creative services, and measurement and insight analysis that we always have, but we’ve added some serious experiential marketing firepower to the stable.

Let’s face it – the marketing landscape is continually changing, and this merger enables us to mash together our services to create measurable, end-to-end brand engagements focused on live experiences that extend into the digital space. We feel this new focus is necessary to compete in a time where the lines continue to blur between experiential and digital.

The other good news is that this means we now have offices in both Grand Rapids and Chicago to serve you better!

Stay tuned for more stories, insights and so on as things develop.