INTERACTIVE
BECOME A GUARDIAN OF AL WASL
A DYNAMIC, VIBRANT EXPERIENCE AND STORY THAT CHANGES AND EVOLVES WITH EACH VISITOR WHO INTERACTS WITH IT.
'Become a Guardian of Al Wasl' was a huge and complex undertaking for Artists In Motion. The experience was hosted in the extraordinary Al Wasl Plaza and comprised one of the largest interactive projection experiences – right at the heart of Expo 2020 Dubai.
From the outset, the experience was created and founded on a story about ‘unity’ and ‘bringing people together’ on a quest to protect the planet. We achieved this through the use of large-scale projection, interactive pods and personalised digital avatars, which were created through a complex combination of facial recognition and real-time rendering.
Once personalised and activated, the avatar would soar up into the Dome and interact with a content environment that was stunningly art directed by AIM, as well as a variety of vibrant animated environments – accompanied by a feel-good and up-beat audio soundtrack.
AIM was proud to bring Expo 2020 Dubai visitors and families together on an unforgettable journey.
Become a Guardian of Al Wasl was a huge hit with over 300 attendees per hour. This segment provided a unique experience at Expo 2020 Dubai, allowing visitors the opportunity to become a guardian on the world's largest projection Dome!
A WORLD FIRST IN REAL TIME CONTENT
In order for AIM to successfully achieve and deliver a dynamic ‘real-time world’ projected onto the Al Wasl Dome, we needed to spearhead a world first implementation of Unreal Engine.
Once achieved, this provided an uninterrupted canvas for the avatars to fly and explore the Dome environment.
The seamless and instant coordination between the pods and the Dome was realised with site wide integration of multiple video, audio and lighting systems – together with local apps and cloud-based software to synchronise the installation across the Plaza.
AVATAR DESIGN
We spent a great deal of time developing the design and function of the avatars. After many months of design and animation testing, we settled on the concept. We created dynamic, colourful, fun human avatars that could fly through the air – the perfect hero to save the planet. Regardless of age or gender, the avatar’s helmet was designed so that audience photographs could be easily incorporated as a take home souvenir (a definite crowd favourite!)
POD DESIGN
Creating an engaging, practical and attractive looking pod was a crucial part of the brief delivered to AIM, as they were a permanent installation on-site at Al Wasl throughout the 6-month duration of Expo 2020 Dubai. Designed in-house by AIM and manufactured in Australia, the pods proved hugely successful. The interactive experience at Al Wasl Plaza was one of the most popular attractions of the Expo.
UI DESIGN
The UI design needed to be intuitive and easy to use – as well as suitable for an international audience of all ages. The result was an elegant, rich and engaging design.
