// 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.