The last thing visitors to the nation of Colombia’s pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai can expect to hear is, “don’t touch that!”
Indeed, with 20 interactive displays throughout the Colombia installation, information exchange clearly starts with the fingertip. Credit for that goes to Helios Interactive Technologies (www.heliosinteractive.com), an emerging leader in “experience design.”
The company served as technology architect for the full complement of displays, each of which enables visitors to engage with government agencies and corporate sponsors, and “touch base” with the country’s railways, airports, renowned emerald mines, and other major assets. The displays are all highly interactive, incorporating multi-touch technologies for an exceptionally memorable experience.
The fifth world’s fair of the millennium, Expo 2010 opened on May 1 and will run through October 31, at the Nanpu Bridge-Lupu Bridge Region in the center of Shanghai. In building the displays, Helios partnered with Ralph Miller, of Ralph Miller Productions of San Francisco, and the nation of Colombia. Now in its second month, Expo 2010 has been a remarkable success for China, drawing nearly 1 million visitors each weekend — a powerful follow-on to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Located directly across from the USA pavilion, the Colombia exhibit welcomes as many as 10,000 visitors each day.
“These exhibits required an extensive amount of cooperation among private and government agencies and Helios, and the results reflect those partnerships,” Schaiman said. “With 70 million people expected to visit Expo 2010 in Shanghai, we wanted to make the Colombia Pavilion a highly memorable stop on everyone’s itinerary.”
Three large-format touch-tables are installed in the pavilion’s third hall, along with five 55-inch LCD touchscreens and twelve 19-inch LCD touchscreens. Collectively, they serve as “virtual tourist bureaus,” enabling visitors to explore personalized information about Colombia’s richly varied regions, from the Caribbean to the Pacific.
“In developing these displays, we wanted to come as close as we could to bringing Colombia to Shanghai — to enable those who have never visited Colombia to see, feel, and experience the country, all within the setting of the world's fair,” said Mike Schaiman, Helios co-founder and Managing Partner. “We’re honored that the nation of Colombia selected Helios as a key creative design and technology partner for its pavilion. Just as an on-the-ground tour involves participation and engagement, so it is with this exhibit where visitors can interact with the country’s culture, heritage, and vitality as they move through the hall. What’s been most striking thus far is everyone’s willingness to engage with the displays. This is as ‘hands on’ as it gets.”
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