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Interactive digital signage goes to the Ducks at UO alumni center (Video)

Movable touchscreen columns and interactive multitouch tables enliven the university's new facility.

June 22, 2011 by Christopher Hall — w, t

Interactive design firm Second Story recently completed a digital signage-intensive project for the University of Oregon's new Ford Alumni Center in Eugene, Ore.

According to Second Story, the Alumni Center is "the new front door to the university," and is the launch point for campus tours, meaning thousands of prospective students will get their first impression of the Oregon experience in the center — a 2,000-square-foot space filled with digital media installations.

Interactive digital signage displays are integrated into nine towering “Oregon Cascades” that display UO stories and information on command; a large interactive multitouch display “Alumni Table” that recognizes every alum in the school’s history; and the “Entry Wall” that displays campus events and recognizes donors to the center's creation.

MultiTouch Ltd., which bills itself as "the developer of the world's first modular multitouch LCD screen for large-scale displays," announced today that it collaborated with Second Story to create the interactive multitouch table for the center.

According to a MultiTouch spokesperson, the table consists of a single surface made up of four 46-inch MultiTouch Cell units. Users can touch the university's well-known O-shaped logo (the same O used by sunglass brand Oakley) in opposite corners of each of the four displays to open up a dialog box to search the entire university alumni database by name, year or special event.

As an integral architectural element of the Ford Alumni Center, the table is positioned in the center of the building. The design motif, a cascade, includes a flow of Os that are animated in the background on the table. When users interact with the background, more Os are spawned from their fingers. Messages can be sent to any of the 240,000 alumni through the alumni center's web site, and they also appear on the table.

MultiTouch and Second Story collaborated over a four-month period to develop the specifications and the system design for the multitouch table.

"Search systems in public buildings are usually static, single-user displays, and we have worked with Second Story to create a compelling interface that is playful, elegant, and respects the space in which it is installed," MultiTouch Americas General Manager Timo Korpela said in today's announcement. "The University of Oregon understands the value of branding itself with leading-edge design and technology, and we were pleased to deliver an application that delivers great functionality with high-concept design."

Check out a video tour of the new building below and see the touchscreen — and movable — "Cascades" in action:

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