Read About The Sophisticated Tech Set-Up At Orlando Int’l Airport’s Moment Vault

January 20, 2023 by Dave Haynes

The technical and creative teams behind an experiential multimedia installation at Orlando International Airport have pushed out PR that goes into substantial detail about what’s called The Moment Vault – three big, curved fine-pitch LED walls that form a circle.

The Moment Vault’s impressive technology was planned out and managed by system designer Smart Monkeys, which has an office in Orlando, and uses the interactive media servers and AI-powered marker-less motion capture system developed by Realmotion, the tech side of Montreal-based creative technology shop Float4.

Described as an “Experiential Media Environment” (or EME), the project was conceptualized by “Executive Producer, MRA International Group with Executive Creative Director Marcela Sardi, Sardi Design and features a series of large-scale multimedia content by Gentilhomme Studio.“

Gentilhomme is also a Montreal company – led by an ex-Moment Factory guy.

Here’s a video of the project:

Says the PR:

The total solution provides content creators a unique set of capabilities that enable novel, memorable interactive experiences for travelers.

According to Realmotion Founder and Project Lead Alexandre Simionescu, the installation in the Airside Hub of the new Terminal C is a destination itself where passengers can walk through three monumental curved 2mm LED displays that form a circle.

“The Moment Vault reflects Orlando International Airport’s established air, water and sky aesthetic and provides an exciting new opportunity for visitors to create lasting travel memories and form positive associations with the airport and the city of Orlando,” Simionescu says. “The immersive real-time experience is made possible through Realmotion’s latest G32 real-time media servers and Fusion tracking technology that instantly converts a subject’s motion into digital wireframes that are integrated into the onscreen content produced by creative studio Gentilhomme, providing delightful selfie-ready moments.”

The server uses video feeds from six cameras to do 3D marker-less tracking for up to 25 subjects walking around inside the circular vault.  The real-time tracking system then transmits the data to three Realmotion G32 servers where it feeds into an Unreal Engine scene. This setup involves AI and machine learning to ensure accurate people tracking through the generation of a ‘3D pose estimate’ for each individual in the space. Each pose estimate is used to accurately place real-time virtual avatars in live digital content.

Existing pose estimate solutions only worked in 2D and could not differentiate between the size and distance of objects, so Realmotion designed a new, proprietary system that utilizes the aforementioned six cameras to capture the space from different perspectives. Having multiple camera angles also eliminates occlusion, or sight-line blockages, that would otherwise miss visitors who are behind someone else relative to the camera.

The result of all that are kind of like sprites that that take on a vaguely human shape, or maybe things like swirling schools of fish, and overlay the main scenes on the video walls.

“This project is a crowd pleaser, and that is its intent,” Simionescu continues. “More and more organizations are looking to create novel technological experiences for customers and guests, and they often require significant research and development, including software design and new combinations of hardware.”

“Creating installations that support generative content is critical to maximizing use and flexibility and provides today’s artists with the tools and canvasses they need to present their latest works,” says Smart Monkeys design consultant Paul Bristol. “Often, art installations are temporary traveling exhibits that require tight scheduling and limited options for the host location. With the amazing permanent digital canvas offer in the Moment Vault, Orlando International Airport can offer much greater visibility and opportunity to artists and content creators, while enjoying a simpler, more powerful management system.”

The outside face of the Moment Vault also uses LED – 4mm displays that extend the experience into the larger area, which appears to include a food court.

The Moment Vault is the first part of Terminal C’s Experiential Media Environment, which will grow to include two additional high-tech installations. “Windows On Orlando” comprises three adjacent panoramic screens that form a 114-foot-long, 32-foot-tall display, while “The Portal” presents a 3-story steel sculpture in the shape of a helix featuring 32 custom curved screens.

All three digital display experiences display content relevant to the locale, including space launches, underwater adventures, and the story of Florida’s transformation from springs and ranch lands to the dawn of theme parks and spaceports.

“There is high demand for creating memorable moments that don’t require physical touch or employee interaction, and their use is certain to grow as travelers and consumers begin to expect these types of installations,” Simionescu adds. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and now that we’ve figured out the way to deliver these amazing experiences, we are excited to see what other organizations have the desire to build something special with us.”

The full project team: Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, Gentilhomme Studio, Sardi Design, Burns Engineering, MRA International Group, Hahn International, SACO, Smart Monkeys, Realmotion, Electrosonic and many more.

I groan every time I know I have to go to Orlando for a trade show, but what helps make the trips tolerable is seeing the investment the main airport in that tourism mecca has been making in digital displays. These experiential pieces get the deserved attention, but MCO also does a very nice job with everyday, in-some-eyes boring digital signage at the check-in areas and through the journey to departure gates.

Looking forward to seeing this in June, for InfoComm – where it will unfortunately be 95F with 95% humidity.