Combining products and real space.

Give a little boost to the customer’s imagination. Does it fit, does it look good? Your customer can try amazingly realistically looking products in his own room, on his own time, even when your shops are closed. It’s easy and fun.

VividWorks brings user-friendly visual 3D sales solutions for product manufacturers and retailers.

VividAR combines real space and virtual products on VividPlatform(tm) bringing amazing freedom for you to dream, plan and visualize your own designs.

Samsung Display world’s first foldable OLED display at CES2014

On a special side event during the CES-2014 at the Encore Hotel, Samsung Display showcased the world first 5.68 inch high resolution AMOLED Display which is foldable. Samsung Display plans to introduce foldable displays for their next generation categories of products. The AMOLED Display use a Plastic Substrate mad with a film-like polyimide (PI) substrate, with this material its possible to produce very very thin displays like paper. Also for the first time Samsung Display reach also the goal to integrate a TSP Touch screen function, realized with a single layer metal mesh material.
The Galaxy Round bendable AMOLED Display uses an ITO indium tin oxide film, but with ITO it is not possible to made it flexible because ITO breaks easily. The korean company need another solution an this is metal mesh material that ensures bending property.

Samsung Display plans to introduce the first foldable Display in 2015. The showcased foldable AMOLED is only a prototype, to commercialize a foldable display they need realize that the display can be folded more than 1000 of times. At the Analyst Day event Samsung Display says that we will see the first products in 2015.

This is a video from November 2010

“Mt. Rushmore of the digital age.”

As the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia get closer to kicking off, the faces of some of the athletes involved in the games are beginning to cover our TV screens. Thanks to technology developed by Swiss company iart, anyone attending the Olympics will have an opportunity to become a face of the Games on what has been dubbed the “Mt. Rushmore of the digital age.”

Located on the façade of MegaFon – Russia’s largest telecommunications companies and general partner of the Olympics – the display, which was designed by London-based architect Asif Kahn, displays three-dimensional images of those who interact with it.
The 21,500-square-foot display is made up of 10,000 narrow cylinders, called actuators, and is designed to function as a giant pin screen as the faces seem to grow from the side of the building. Each actuator features an RGB LED light, which is shown through a thin veil that covers the side of the building to create a smooth surface.
The faces of participants are scanned in a 3D photo booth, which captures simultaneous images from five different angles. After about a minute, the 3D model is created from the images and can be then be shown on the building. The 26-foot image of the visitor is then displayed for 20 seconds.

Participants are told when to expect to see their face on the building and also receive a video featuring their 20 seconds in the spotlight.
The MegaFaces Pavilion, located at the entrance to Olympic Park, is set to open Feb. 7 and remain throughout both the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
More than 170,000 different faces are projected to be displayed on the wall.

Projection on a Cruise Ship in Amsterdam

This Apple #iWatch Concept Design Is Simply Incredible

Everyone's hearts go aflutter at iWatch rumors, the supposed wearable wrist computer that Apple could launch as early as this year.

A designer named Todd Hamilton took a stab not only at what the still-speculative watch might look like, but how it might actually work to make calls

Read more here 

BenQ TH681: Thuisbioscoopprojector met proftalent.

BenQ, de marktleider op gebied van DLP®-projectoren, brengt met de BenQ TH681 op tijd voor het begin van het wereldkampioenschap voetbal een nieuw thuisbioscoopmodel in het spel. De projector springt eruit door zijn eersteklas lichtsterkte. Daarmee zorgt hij in de woonkamer, in het verenigingsgebouw, bij vrienden of zelfs op het overschaduwde terras voor ongestoord voetbalgenot op grootformaat. De TH681 is nu al in de winkel verkrijgbaar voor een prijs van € 839,=, inclusief BTW.

De featureset van de nieuwe BenQ champion bestaat naast de lichtsterkte van 3000 ANSI lumen, die ook projectie bij invallend daglicht mogelijk maakt, uit een Full HD resolutie van 1920 × 1080 en een 16:9-beeldformaat. Hij overtuigt verder door de 1,3-voudige zoom met een maximale beelddiagonaal van 7,62 meter en de nieuwste 3D-technologie via HDMI®. Het gemakkelijk hanteerbare en met 2,6 kg beslist lichte apparaat kan worden gebruikt als mobiel tafelapparaat of aan het plafond worden gemonteerd. De Quick Cooling-functie stelt bovendien in staat tot vervoer onmiddellijk na gebruik.

Dance around the ActiveFloor.

BrightLogic recently installed its ActiveFloor™ 14ft x 14ft massively-multitouch interactive floor as the Math Square at MoMath in NY. The ActiveFloor triggers visuals when it detects a person or object on the floor. With sensors embedded within the floor and support for any number of feet/hands on the floor, it makes it an exciting interactive experience for anyone. The ActiveFloor also presents an open API for all types of applications to be developed and displayed.

Archos is developing a $130 E Ink smartwatch.

Archos are showing three new smartwatches. The two budget ones (at $50 and $85) use LCD displays, but the high-end one uses an E Ink panel.



The premium model (which will cost $130) uses a 1.8" curved E Ink display. The battery will last 1.5 weeks. The watch will display the time, notifications from your smartphone and media controls.

Van branding naar brand activation.

blowUP media begint 2014 met een digitale WOW Van branding naar brand activation: blowUP media introduceert een nieuwe standaard in digitale reclame recht tegenover een van de drukste openbaar vervoer hubs van Nederland - het Centraal Station van Rotterdam. Het meest kwalitatief hoogwaardige commerciële LED scherm van Nederland met een totale oppervlakte van 170m2 is een feit, mede dankzij de zeer goede samenwerking met de Gemeente Rotterdam en Maarsen Groep. Volgens inschatting is het scherm goed voor 110.000 kijkers per dag 

MIT's new transparent screen may lead to cheap heads-up displays.

Transparent screens just aren't very practical these days -- bigger models are frequently expensive and bulky, while smaller heads-up displays tend to have very narrow viewing angles. However, MIT may have solved all those problems at once with its prototype nanoparticle display. The device creates color images on a glass surface simply by 'tuning' a silver nanoparticle coating until it lets only certain light wavelengths pass through. The technique is both cheap and compact, since it requires little more than the coating and some off-the-shelf projector technology. There's also no need for beam splitters or mirrors, so you can see the picture from just about any angle. While there's a lot of work left before there's a finished product, researchers note that their display would be as easy to implement as window tinting; don't be surprised if MIT's screen shows up on a car windshield or storefront near you.

29 ft. High LED Display.

Holt Renfrew, a chain of high-end Canadian department stores, has installed a pair of large-scale LED displays at their Yorkdale Mall location. The new LED display are part of Holt Renfrew’s recent store re-designed and stand at the front of store. The LED display features six 29 foot tall by 4 foot wide panels displaying the latest fashion trends in dynamic imagery to wow passers-by and to welcome shoppers into the store. The layout design provides Holt Renfrew with a creative platform to display digital content on each individual column or content spanning across the entire façade. The displays feature a sharp 6 mm pixel pitch to give people outside and inside of the store a sharp, crisp image. The entire display features over 1.5 million LED packages. 

Holt Renfrew partnered with Gridcast Media, a Canadian visual communications consulting firm, to create and deploy the system using NanoLumens LED technology. 

700 displays in China’s largest auto showroom.

China’s largest auto showroom features 700 42-inch digital signage displays each fitted to the front and back of each support pillar on 5 floors. AKD Luxury Cars Mall was opened in 2013 and accommodates more than 3000 luxury vehicles. The showroom is a magnet for car enthusiasts amongst China’s fast growing affluent professional community. It specializes in high-end used cars, including exclusive marques like Bentley and Lamborghini as well as luxury brands like Mercedes Benz, BMW, Porsche, Lexus, Land Rover and Audi.

The audio-visual installation was handled by the CAS Group, a leading Chinese digital signage specialist. The screens are powered by 350 BrightSign players, each driving two screens via a 1x2 HDMI splitter. Each floor plays its own content, which is identical on each screen on that floor. Synchronization between the screens is flawless – every screen shows the same video at exactly the same time, and is controlled and synchronized through the showroom Intranet and BrightAuthor software. The CAS Group provided the players, programmed the players and tested the installation to ensure that it was working flawlessly. AKD sources content from the manufacturers of the vehicles it sells, and also creates its own content.

EPSON GLASS VOOR BEIDE OGEN.

Ook Epson komt met een smartglass. Het grote verschil met de Google Glass is dat de Epson Moverio BT-200 bril de beelden voor beide ogen kan projecteren. De Google Glass doet dat bij maar één oog.

De projectie voor beide ogen heeft diverse voordelen. ten eerste kan het hele gezichtsveld benut worden om informatie te tonen. Daarnaast kan de bril van Epson ook gebruikt worden om films te tonen (eventueel in 3D) en het is mogelijk om glazen op sterkte in de Epson smartglass te bevestigen.
De Epson Moverio BT-200 smartglass maakt gebruik van twee kleine lcd-projectoren om informatie via beide ogen beschikbaar te maken. De resolutie van de Espson bril bedraagt 960 bij 540 pixels. Voor de gebruiker lijkt het alsof hij of zij een scherm van 812 centimeter groot voor zich heeft. Dit maakt het kijken van films via de bril indrukwekkend. Epson gaat contrastverhogende lenzen voor de bril maken om een nog betere kijkervaring te krijgen.


De Epson Moverio BT-200 weegt slechts 88 gram. De bril heeft een dualcore 1,2 GHz processor en 8 GB geheugen aan boord. Er is ruimte voor een micro SD-kaart.
De Epson Moverio BT-200 gaat mei 2014 in de verkoop. Hij moet 699 euro kosten.

Healthy Living with Digital Communication.

Basic-Fit is the largest budget fitness chain in the Netherlands. Their impressive “virtual fitness” concept is implemented at all locations across The Netherlands and Belgium. In addition to live lessons, Basic-Fit offers their clients virtual group lessons to provide a comprehensive experience.




Basic-Fit approached System Integrator First Impression to help make virtual group lessons a reality for their clients. First Impression designed the concept and engineered the system, using Scala Software as the content management system. After concept creation, First Impression installed the “Virtual Fitness Experience” in more than 170 locations in The Netherlands and Belgium.

Quick facts

• Chain of fitness centers
• 300+ players at 170+ locations
• Full HD video wall, powerful sound system and colorful lighting
• Interactive fitness experience
• Positive feedback from end-users

The Challenge
The available space to install the Virtual Fitness Experience varied between locations. The complete setup had to be flexible to fit in any given environment and still maintain a consistent look & feel. It was also important that the system was designed to be very reliable and have complete stand-alone functionality as each fitness club is managed by only 1 or 2 staff members. Finally, the management of group lessons had to be very simple because of the large number of available time-slots and locations.

More information here



The Solution – Creating a Virtual Fitness Experience
First Impression designed a complete solution that consists of a Full HD video wall, powerful sound system and colorful LED lighting set. With this equipment, a room is transformed into an active experience. The virtual lessons incl. audio en lightning (DMX) scripts are managed and distributed by Scala. Additional narrowcasting displays on central positions show not only news items and customers’ marketing content, but also an automatically updated schedule for the virtual and live lessons in that location. An attractive countdown informs customers of the next available lesson so they can plan a personal workout schedule.

THE MEMORY OF NELSON MANDELA WITH LASER DISPLAY.

Bron: www.avinteractive.com

LaserX one of South Africa's laser production compagnies, paid tribute to the passing of Nelson Mandela, by choreographing a beautiful laser light show in the leader's honour.

In recognition of the recent passing of former President Nelson Mandela, LaserX (for their client The Western Cape Government), paid tribute to the great man by choreographing a laser light show to display Nelson Mandela’s face, name, and messages onto the side of beautiful Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa.

The images displayed on the mountain were projected from approximately 1KM away, with the image size being around 300m x 200m. The images used depicted Mr Mandela in the various stages of his life, and were visible every evening until midnight from the December 8th through to the 16th.

Some of the messages displayed included famous quotes from Nelson Mandela, and calls for his charity 46664. To perform such a stunning laser display, the team at LaserX used Pangolin’s new BEYOND laser control software and FB3QS hardware, alongside 2 x 36W RTI Nano laser projectors. The new features inside of Pangolin’s BEYOND software (including the advanced drawing program and geometric correction features), allowed for LaserX to create these custom animations, and display them onto the side of Table Mountain in Cape Town.

Gebogen beeldschermen.

Bron; www.hd-technieuws.net

 Fabrikanten zetten dit jaar fors in op gebogen televisies. Voor het eerst toonden LG en Samsung afgelopen week op de CES in Las Vegas schermen die consumenten zelf in een gebogen stand konden zetten. Is het een gimmick? De eerste gebogen platte schermen doken vorig jaar op. LG toonde ook in Nederland diverse OLEDs en Samsung had een gebogen LED LCD. Ook Sony kwam met een eigen variant. Dit jaar waren er weer nieuwe exemplaren. Ongetwijfeld geïnspireerd door de bioscoop, waarvan het scherm immers vaak ook licht gekromd is. Fabrikanten als LG stellen dat de beste beeldkwaliteit wordt bereikt bij een kijkafstand van drie tot vier meter. Het gaat niet alleen om het gebogen scherm. Samsung geeft bijvoorbeeld hoog op van zijn gepatenteerde Auto Depth Enhancer, een technologie die het contrast aanpast. Eveneens nieuw is PurColor, die kleuren versterkt en schaduwen preciezer weergeeft.

Ondanks alle nieuwe foefjes heeft de innovatie nu al critici: het idee is dat de kijker als het ware wordt 'ingesloten' door het beeld, waarbij ook het geluid 'meebuigt'. Maar dat geldt wel alleen voor degene die recht voor het beeld zit. Wie het scherm vanuit een andere hoek bekijkt ziet volgens kenners toch lichte vertekeningen. Wellicht is dat de reden waarom zowel LG als Samsung hun eerste tv met een verstelbare kromming van het scherm toonden. Met een druk op de knop stel je elektromotor in werking die van een platte tv een gebogen tv maakt. LG toonde in Las Vegas de eerste flexibele OLED tv van 77 inch met 4k-resolutie. Het scherm beweegt maximaal 7,5 centimeter. Het gaat nog even duren voordat deze schermen verkrijgbaar zijn. Maar critici durven nu al te voorspellen dat flexibele of gekromde schermen 3D TV achterna gaan, waarvoor de belangstelling uiteindelijk zeer gering bleek. Prijzen voor flexibele televisies zullen erg hoog zijn, en een must have zijn de schermen ook al niet.

Samsung gaf het zelf toe:
Volgens de producent is het nog te duur om een dergelijk toestel op de markt te brengen.
.

LIFX is a LED light bulb that you can control with your smartphone.

LIFX is a Wi-Fi enabled, multi-color, energy efficient LED light bulb that you can control with your smartphone.

Was lässt sich nicht alles per App steuern? Jetzt ist die Glühlampe dran. Ein US-Entwickler hat sich drangemacht, eine LED-Lampe zu entwickeln, die sich nicht nur mit dem Smarthphone ein- und ausschalten und dimmen lässt, sondern deren Farbe sich per Farbwahlrad in einer App beliebig verändert.
Das Ergebnis: Lifx.

SignWall-Pro

The Simple Highly-Customizable Video Wall Solution That Can Display Multiple Streams of Real Time Video Content Directly from Your Cable Box, Camera and Local Network.

Creating the optimal video wall or digital signage display is easier than ever with the newly released SignWall-Pro from the California-based electronics manufacturer SmartAVI. The SignWall-Pro digital signage and video wall controller allows users to direct up to four HD video displays in highly customizable ways. Users can even employ multiple SignWall-Pro controller boxes to create displays that use as many as 16 screens to create a truly unique and seamless visual experience.

SignWall-Pro also adds an exciting new feature called Video Capture, allowing users to quickly and easily route HD video signals and even live camera feeds to the display on demand. This additional flexibility allows users to enhance their video content on the fly with live television feeds, DVDs and more direct messaging than ever before.

In addition to its powerful and highly customizable digital signage software, SmartAVI offers a wide variety of preconfigured templates for users who need a bright and beautiful video wall or digital signage solution that offers the simplicity of plug-and-play operation. SignWall-Pro makes it easy to include all kinds of media, including video, images, HTML 5 Widgets, RSS Feeds, scrolling text and more.

“This new product gives our customers incredible control over a video wall or digital signage installation in their businesses,” said Albert Cohen, CEO of SmartAVI. “With the live video input provided by the video capture feature, the possibilities and applications are virtually endless.”

For more information on SignWall-Pro

Eyes On The Road.

Singapore is ranked top in smartphone usage. However, bad mobile habits have caused agony, especially on the roads where drivers text while they drive. The dangers are fatal, yet Singaporeans remain ignorant about it.
Using sensor fusion technology, the app detects motion at above 20km/hr. Calls and SMSes will be temporarily blocked. Social media alerts silenced. Auto-generated messages inform that the user is driving. The app is deactivated after 10 minutes of idleness, or done so manually.

Augmented Reality Technology in Architecture Field.

Project van de Caïro Universiteit.

Digital Banking Experience.

Allied Irish Banks launched The Lab—an interactive learning center where customers can experiment with new technologies for mobile banking, self-service, and more. 

Welcome to The Lab - Mobile Banking Zone

This short walk through animation welcomes you to The Lab -- AIB's new store located in Dundrum Town Centre, and introduces some of the services available. 

The name 'The LAB' stands for 'Learn About Banking'. The Lab is focused on providing a friendly and supportive environment for customers to learn about AIB's different self-service banking offerings and future services and to use their own technology to get the most from AIB. The Lab incorporates the latest technology to help improve the customer experience when customers bank with us. 

The Responsive City.

Why ??
Nowadays we (nearly ) all have a smart phone in the pocket.

-  Future of the pay phone ?  
-  very nice concept! // Its main weakness: vandalism ?
-  The only question here is what service can those pay phones provide that google now doesn't ?

-  

CES 2014: Intel Shows Off Its Depth-Detecting Camera.

For Intel’s big CES press conference, they promised an ambitious goal: make computer sensors more like human senses. And I don’t know if the product they announced, the RealSense 3-D camera, is quite as amazing as the human eye, but it’s pretty darn rad.

Using the embedded camera, laptops and tablets can scan depth when taking pictures, through infrared and color sensors. Once the camera’s determined that depth, you can do some pretty crazy stuff, like immediately crop out a particular object by selecting its depth, or even, through a new partnership with 3D Systems, create a shareable scan and 3-D print what your camera sees.

It’s not perfect; there’s a way to use the camera to detect a person and place a new background behind that person, but it still looked a little rough in the demo: the person wasn’t perfectly cut out in the frame.

It’s part of a push by Intel to create a series of sensors under their RealSense banner that are more intuitive, and the tech is coming to gadgets from a bunch of manufacturers, like Dell, Lenovo, and HP. The company also showed off some gesture recognition tech for tablets, Leap Motion style, that could be used with the camera. One demo showed someone watching Google Earth, turning her head to tilt the direction. (Less cool: new voice-listening tech, also under that RealSense banner.)

There were also some gaming-related uses for the cam: it tracks finger-by-finger gesture control, letting people move their hands or a flat plane to manipulate on-screen objects. It looks a lot like the Xbox Kinect, but it could fit in a tiny laptop. And it looks like a lot of fun. The same idea could be applies to augmented reality games, too.

World’s first study to evaluate live 3D holographic imaging in interventional cardiology

Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Yokneam, Israel – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) and RealView Imaging Ltd. announced that they have completed a clinical study that has demonstrated the feasibility of using an innovative live 3D holographic visualization and interaction technology to guide minimally-invasive structural heart disease procedures.

 In the pilot study that involved eight patients and was conducted in collaboration with the Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petach Tikva, Israel, RealView’s innovative visualization technology was used to display interactive, real-time 3D holographic images acquired by Philips’ interventional X-ray and cardiac ultrasound systems.



Virtual Reality Symposium 28 and 29 January 2014 - Fontys University / Eindhoven The Netherlands
Throughout this symposium there will be a live size hologram presentation, as well as interesting demonstrations by Philips and other companies at the stands.


See the Virtual Reality Symposium Program, Speakers'and more detailed information here.

InAir - Augmented reality meets TV,

Bron: www.crazyengineers.com

SeeSpace wants you to experience the technology you saw in Minority Report in your lifetime; and has developed InAir - a smart HDMI adapter that hooks to your 2D / 3D TV and takes you several years into the future. InAir will sit right between your HDTV and the set top box and once turned on, the hardware will setup virtual content layers between the display and your eyes, creating a never seen before TV experience. The overall effect is similar to what we've seen in movies; where all the displays come alive, right in the space.

InAir is smart enough to analyse your video feed and then search up for the most relevant content on the Internet. The user interface can be controlled using a special companion app, available for both iOS and Android platforms. The app will let you navigate through the screens, menus and options. SeeSpace, the company that manufactures InAir will let you use their API to build new features and functionalities for the platform. 

The device is on display at the CES but won't make it to the markets until May-June. The price of InAir will be about $99. The following official video demonstration will give you an idea of what to expect.

Bacteria-Killing Touchscreen Glass.

Corning is introducing its Antimicrobial Gorilla Glass(http://www.corninggorillaglass.com/Antimicrobial) at CES this week – material embedded with ionic silver to kills the invisible germs that make people want to control touchscreens with their elbows.

Gorilla Glass is well established as a damage resistant glass substrate for all kinds of devices, starting with smartphones and scaling up from there. Now the company is dealing with the Ick Factor of shared touch surfaces .

“Corning’s Antimicrobial Gorilla Glass inhibits the growth of algae, mold, mildew, fungi, and bacteria because of its built-in antimicrobial property, which is intrinsic to the glass and effective for the lifetime of a device,” said James R. Steiner, senior vice president and general manager, Corning Specialty Materials. “This innovation combines best-in-class antimicrobial function without compromising Gorilla Glass
properties. Our specialty glass provides an excellent substrate for engineering antimicrobial and other functional attributes to help expand thecapabilities of our Corning Gorilla Glass and address the needs of new markets.”

Antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass is being tested with numerous manufacturers for various applications, and high-volume production
capability has been demonstrated. The RoomWizard by Steelcase, a web-based room scheduling system, will feature Antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass and will be showcased at CES.

Glow 2013 - Eindhoven

Glow 2013 -  EDtv maakte een exclusieve sneakpreview van het lichtfestival. Bekijk Glow  in ruim zes minuten.

AV TECH OPENS UP A WORLD OF MUSEUMS IN ROMANIA.

Bron; http://www.inavateonthenet.net

A museum in Romania is utilising 3D projection, 3D screens and a host of touchscreens to allow visitors to explore exhibitions and displays from numerous museums around the world. The Digital Museum was designed by architect Claudiu Ionsecu to deliver a great number of presentations within a very small space. It is situated near the Mures Floodplain Natural Park in Pecica, Romania.

Forty-five inch touchscreens and passive 3D technologies are packed into the 125m² space.

Content ranges from exhibits from museums around the world down to information on the local area. The museum also encourages visitors to explore the local area virtually using exercise bikes coupled with digital displays or physically using one of 60 mountain bikes.

Ionescu said: “Inspired by Constantin Brancusi’s ‘miracle’ sculpture, the building rises naturally from the ground through golden spirals (the fibonacci spirals) and crystallizes in a shape that, just like its muse, tries to set itself free from ‘the past burdens’, striving to rise high. Its shape offers the visitor a feeling of aspiration, an aspiration not only of the building, but of life itself.”

By Richard Ventura

Vice President of Product Marketing and Solutions, NEC Display Solutions of America

As we turn the page on the calendar to the next year, now is the perfect time to start prognosticating on the digital signage front for 2014.

Here are three areas that promise to be of growing interest and focus in the next year:

• Video Walls
• Touch-enabled Displays
• Ultra High-definition Resolutions

Take a look here

FIVE RESOLUTIONS FOR OUT-OF-HOME TO KICKSTART THE YEAR.

By Suzanne Grimes Suzanne GrimesPresident & Chief Operating Officer, Clear Channel Outdoor

In 2013, the Out-of-Home industry consecutively grew each quarter, extending the upward streak begun in 2010. Advertising technologies barely possible a year ago -- NFC and geo-fencing -- became tangible elements in engaging media campaigns. As the physical and digital worlds continue to blur, Out-of-Home stands ready to break the mold of traditional media planning. I propose five resolutions to continue this charge:

React in real time. Digital signage can broadcast the halftime score, post happy hour specials, unveil new album art, share tweets, and disseminate emergency broadcasts when panic paralyzes a region. Displaying MEMA updates during the 2013 Boston Marathon tragedy transformed our Boston colleagues from helpless viewers to helpful residents in a matter of minutes. We resolve to be plugged in, timely and good citizens of our communities.

Be contextually relevant. Localization has always been an inherent component in billboards, and this has increased trifold with day-parted messaging, traffic monitors and weather feeds. Target shared weather-triggered billboard messaging with suggested outdoor activities for parents to enjoy with their kids. Chance Of Rain Today. Go Puddling! Sun's Out! Go Sprinklering! We resolve to be relevant.

Integrate personalization. Let's be honest, we all like to see our name in lights. We also like to confess our secrets, though it's usually after a cocktail or two. Clorox's "Bleach It Away" campaign in Vegas invited passersby text their most bleachable moments to digital boards. Their confessions were displayed for a few seconds before being magically bleached away (if only life were that easy). We resolve to continue to engage consumers in unique ways.

Make it an experience. Transit shelters were once places to huddle, pace and text friends and family while you waited. Today, a consumer can shop for groceries, sample perfume and swim with the fish. Yes, fish. The Monterey Bay Aquarium brought virtual scuba diving to bus shelters in San Francisco and entertained thousands of commuters. Air travel is also about to get interactive. With the recent FAA ruling in October, airline passengers will be able to tune in and turn on their mobile devices in-flight. SmartTray will equip planes with special seat-back trays to hold these gadgets and engage consumers via branded games and videos, giving in-flight entertainment a new dimension. We resolve to make traveling more fun.

Increase measurability. As an industry, we need to supercharge our efforts to provide the best metrics possible to support efficient advertising spends. Traditional Out-of-Home advertising company Posterscope and mobile ad network xAd recently partnered to launch a unique program that will enable the digital retargeting of people who have seen billboards or other OOH advertising in the real world. We resolve to test, benchmark and share our analytics to become better integrated with other media.

If you ever ponder the power of Out-of-Home, fast forward to a few hours before the stroke of midnight on December 31. Over one million people will congregate in freezing temperatures to watch an iconic, crystalized glowing ball make its descent down a flagpole in the most vibrant, outdoor advertising environment in the world -- Times Square. How's that for engagement?!

Hello, 2014, we're ready.

Passengers Bar, Madrid

Here's a coffee shop/bar in Madrid, Spain that has taken on the look of e passenger rail cabin, all the way down toi a set od digital cabin windows that show a virtual landscape rolling by.

The passengers bar was put together by art designer Parolio, and is located in the trendy Malasaña/Triball neighborhood of Madrid.  The new space, says Parolio's website, occupies a long and narrow architectural structure wich inspired Parolio to create the concept of:" A train constantly on the move, right in the center of the citye. "

The main area is designed to look and feel like a train cabin. To create the illusion of movement., three huge solid screens play the role of windows. They are constantly projected with synchronized and programmed videos that flow, from one screen to the next, just like in real life. The images have been recorded from train windows all over the world, presenting urban and nature landscapes that transport the client into the fantastic experience of travel and leisure, pulling them away from the reality of the city around them.