Rethinking touch on interactive exhibits
All images courtesy of Mad Systems
Mad Systems’ QuickSilver® integrates touchless and other options for museums by Maris Ensing, Mad Systems
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he current COVID-19 crisis has had a significant impact on our lives over the past while, and it will clearly continue for quite a while yet as we move towards a new normal as quickly as we can. We have given considerable thought as to how to safely reopen our doors, and our clients’ doors as well. The Mad Systems team have been designing solutions specifically for a post-peak COVID-19 world as part of the QuickSilver® AV++™ system. Of course, we have been using a range of sophisticated sensors in our past work to create complex interactives, including cameras for shadow play, sensors for puppetry type controls, structured light cameras for more complex interactives, and the usual RFID and barcode sensors. However, a lot of exhibits do not need that level of interaction, and there is a significant need for more mundane, safe activation methods. Theme parks, museums, visitor centers, trade shows and conferences – the list goes on and on – cannot go back to what
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we were used to before the events of the past months. Ultimately it does not matter what any of us in the various related industries think about all of this. If we are to have visitors return and get back to a functioning economy, we have to create environments that are safe, and perceived to be safe for patrons in order to alleviate fears, real or imagined. The QuickSilver® system is our company’s complete, advanced and well-established AV solution with several successful installations, including the first visitor center where the only printed graphics is the wallpaper – everything else is covered with pixels, and driven by QuickSilver®. We’ve always had various inputs including a range of different sensor inputs, and different types of outputs. During this time, we identified different needs, and have continued to work on further developments and extensions for QuickSilver® to create new contactless ways to activate exhibits. This has resulted in a new subsection of our QuickSilver® product line: the QS7200 Touchless Technology series.
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