The latest wave

The latest wave
No-touch, gesture-based interactive windows innovate London storefronts

By Jessie Bove, Associate Editor
May 01, 2008

Spencer E. Holtaway at The Altenative

Gestures can be a powerful form of communication, and technology firms have caught on. Forget stores with touchscreen window displays, which were considered cutting-edge quite recently. The latest technologic innovation taking over storefronts requires no tools and no touch—just a flick of the wrist or a wave of the hand. It might sound like magic or something out of the movie "Minority Report," but gesture-based interactive windows are quite real. Debuting several months ago, this new form of interactive windows has created a sort of "street theater" in front of the Orange store at the intersection of Great Marlborough and Carnaby streets in London.

U.K.-based Orange, a telecommunications brand of France Telecom Group, chose to host its first no-touch interactive window at its Carnaby Street store because of the busy location, where hundreds of people pass by every hour. The store's main window, which is also activated afterhours, allows passersby to view live news updates, watch music videos or film trailers, play "Buff or Rough," and interact with a wide array of content from the Orange World mobile portal. Users can browse through menus and interact with content by simply waving their hands in front of the window—no interface, such as a glove, mouse or keyboard, is needed.

Orange's interactive window, which was developed by London-based The Alternative, uses gesture-based technology to allow users to wave a hand, which triggers a projected image inside the store to respond to the movement. However, the way the technology works is a closely guarded secret, says Gavin Martin, creative director for The Alternative. "The really fun part has been learning to think differently," he explains. "We had to create a totally new type of interface for Orange, and a new way of interacting and controlling."

Martin readily admits that he dislikes the standard computer keyboard and mouse, which he calls "tools for dinosaurs." "I hate modern technology; it's supposed to make our lives easier, yet it really doesn't. We still have to learn how to use it," he points out. "As a human being, you have millions of highly developed and incredibly intuitive ways of communicating…you can't tell me that a keyboard is the most advanced way that you can interact with something. It's simply the case that we've used it for so long that we've forgotten how to imagine anything else. So the idea for the window was just one of those creative sparks that come about—a 'what if we just threw away all the rules and dreamt up new ones' thing."

According to Orange, its initial trials have proved very popular, and the company plans to continue to innovate and find new ways to bring its shop windows to life. In time, the company plans to install interactive windows in other high-traffic sites across the United Kingdom.

The motion-capture system can be applied anywhere—it's not just for windows, Martin adds. "I can see a huge potential in the entertainments and brand experience arena over the next few years," he says. "With products like [Nintendo's] Wii being so popular right now, surely removing the need for the device in your hand is the next logical progression. This is just the first version of our technology. We're in no great rush to leap into anything, but there is potential there for partnerships, collaborations or investors. Everything's possible."